The NeverBreaking Dawn
by Toffkat
Summary: Sick, tired, broken-hearted and no longer willing to chase someone who doesn't want her, Amy turns for home. Now the one with the answers she once sought must find her hiding place: the land of the Never-Breaking Dawn. Good luck winning her over, Sonic...
1. Silent Tears

**Author's Note:** Please, see the next chapter's A/N for all my e-drama (and review repliess!), as this is a complete rewrite of the old first chapter and should have a rewrite of the original A/N. Less N00By, though xP. But, anyway, way-back-when readers (few as you are, I know xD) I hope you like the new version, and new readers.... welcome :). Welcome to The Never-Breaking Dawn, formerly known as Truth And Pain, Lies And Love.

And for anyone who's interested... if you really want to see what an awful, awful writer I was a little over a year ago, PM, e-mail or review asking for the original XD. Seriously, it'll make your eyes bleed but I'm keeping it around as evidence that I've improved ;P. It includes both old versions of the half written second chapter, never before seen, too! 8D

**Original A/N:** Heya! This is my first fanfic ever, and I hope you'll like it! It's a SonAmy, but I'm not a totally rabid fan I won t kill you for disliking it XP - and I do like most other pairings. Except SonChris Dx. Shudder. Shun. Anyway, constructive criticism would be brilliant, and please review!

**Disclaimer:** I don't claim any of the characters found in official games to be mine, they're property of SEGA, if you can't find them in an official game then they're mine.

**--XOX--**

**The Never-Breaking Dawn**

**{Chapter One :; Silent Tears}**

**--XOX--**  
_All the pain I thought I knew,  
All the thoughts lead back to you.  
Back to what was never said -  
Back and forth inside my head.  
I can't handle this confusion,  
I'm unable; come and take me away..._

..: Take Me Away - Avril Lavigne :..  
**--XOX--**

The rose-furred hedgehog slid down the rough brick wall behind the bins as she thought of him, forcing back a fresh wave of tears. Darkness cloaked the city streets at this time of night, and the only illumination in the alley where she had sought refuge was the weak light of a dying streetlamp some distance from her hiding place. And still the girl was oblivious to all this, aware only of her inner turmoil.

Amy could hear conversations from the past that felt like a different life echoing in her head; dreams about one day meeting her hero, sleepovers with old friends where they would talk animatedly long into the night. She could remember herself reading the tarot cards for them, a skill of hers that she'd stumbled upon by accident but had embraced all the same.

Clearest of all she could remember reading those cards for herself one dark evening, unable to sleep despite the late hour. Them telling her that she would find him at the Little Planet.

Amy could still picture every last detail of her kidnap by Metal; the exact shade of the dancing emerald grass, the entrancing patterns in the fluffy clouds floating overhead - and her brave hero rescuing her. And at that moment her whole world had changed for the better.

Amy Rose had been offered a brand new life. And without sparing even a thought for those who she was leaving behind, she'd accepted.

Four years had passed since then, and the hedgehog had found herself in a world of excitement and adventure and danger. Since then, Amy Rose had helped defeat gods and save civilizations. Since then, she'd learned how to fight, how to hold her own in battle and protect those she cared about - no longer just the damsel in distress, the weak link in the chain. She'd reinvented herself, changing her appearance, altering it until she was physically near unrecognisable as the spirited, naive girl the people back home had known her as. Friendship had always come easily to her, and now she was surrounded by the best companions that she - or anyone - could wish for; close friends who wouldn't hesitate to help her when she was in need of it.

And since then, Amy Rose's crush on her childhood idol had grown into passionate adoration, and she had fallen for him - fallen hard.

The one thing about her new self; the one thing she loved most dearly with every ounce of her being - and the one thing that she would loathe utterly until the end of time.

_Sonic..._

**--XOX--**

_There's a reason, there's got to be... there's got to be a reason... Why he doesn't... does he? He doesn't, he can't... but..._

Amy's mind was a messy web of tangled thoughts, broken phrases repeating over and over again. She'd drifted in and out of sleep, but she barely noticed in her semi-conscious state.

_And why can't... why can't he tell me...? Don't I... I deserve that much... Just a simple reason... there's got be one..._

She knew that she wouldn't ever give up, knew that she was going to spend her life chasing him... and all she wanted - no, needed - was an answer, a reason, why she was always shot down, always left behind, always had to be running to try and keep up with what had become the centre of her world.

And yet... she shouldn't keep trying, she couldn't. Amy knew it was hurting her, tearing her apart inside. She'd locked away the pain and feelings that hurt so deeply, but now the walls hiding them were crumbling to pieces and she didn't think she could ever rebuild them.

_Does he even... I don't even know... But there's always been..._

She'd never let the constant rejection, the avoiding and the evasion torment her, building barricades to keep out the agony - and it worked. Like an oyster, smothering the ache until it no longer hurt. There were moments when she was so sure she could see something in his eyes - something different to the ever-cocky, playful look in those forest-green orbs, something softer telling her that it wasn't hopeless, that her pursuit wasn't in vain.

And with those barriers tumbling down, she couldn't tell what she should believe. All the time she'd been positive, she could draw strength from those times she saw that tiny sparkle of hope. Now she found herself drowning in the despair, what was previously her raft in an ocean of troubles only serving to confuse her already muddled thoughts, leaving her flailing and pushing herself further under.

Did he really feel anything for her? Or was it merely friendship she saw in his eyes - friendship she'd desperately twisted into something more to console herself?

_If- If he really doesn't want me... I don't want to- to chase him forever... to lose my life that way. If there's no hope..._

She didn't think she could take much more of the torture that she'd been putting herself through for so long; she needed an answer, an answer to the question she wished would be simple. But she couldn't bring herself to care about what it was so much any more; she just needed to know, one way or the other. Closure.

_Why can't you tell me, Sonic? Just tell me... give me an honest answer... if I'm wasting my time. An answer, a reason... how you feel... just..._

_Please..._

She twisted her fingers into her bangs, pushing her face into her hands in a futile effort to escape the confusion and the ever-present misery.

The hours dragged by unnoticed, the night growing colder, the unbroken silence turning eerie, and amaranth pink eyelids slid closed as quiet tears began to first gather there, then fall from them once more.

**--XOX--**

A soft sound pulled her from the oblivion she'd sunk into, a quiet voice coaxing her into wakefulness.

"... Amy? Wake up, Ames..."

She thought she felt someone gently shaking her shoulder, though she couldn't be sure through the numbing veil that was rapidly slipping away from her.

"Mmhmm... Wha- huh?" The rose-furred hedgehog mumbled indistinctly, blinking slowly as she tried to make sense of what her senses were telling her. Her voice betrayed no emotion; Amy felt nothing but numb, the other emotions too churned up and clouded to make any sense. In any case, how should she feel? She didn't know. "S- Sonic?"

"She's okay, right, Sonic?" Another voice, this one younger than the first. Tails. The smart little fox and Sonic were brothers in all but blood; Sonic had rescued him from both bullies and Robotnik when he'd crash landed the Tornado on Westside Island, maybe a few months before she'd left home to find him.

"I_ think _so..." She heard the hedgehog reply. "... Or, at least, she will be in a while. Amy, what were you doing here? Have you been here all night?" Wiry but strong arms wrapped around her, lifting her up before draping her peach-furred arm around his neck to support her as they walked.

Another garbled "Mmhmm..." was the only reply the cobalt hedgehog got to his question. He bit his lip at the way she was limping - was she injured? - but he didn't think so, it was probably nothing.

"Huh. Well, I'm gonna drop you back home, okay?" Then the blue hedgehog had an idea; didn't you talk calmly about anything to people who were distressed or going into shock, to soothe them or something? Worth a shot.

"So, uh, me and Tails were just heading to Angel Island. Knux called Tails a few minutes ago saying Espio and the rest of the Chaotix had found something on ol' Eggman." The trio were now wandering in the general direction of Amy's apartment. Sonic glanced at her again, unsure if she was really okay - she was so unresponsive, especially for her - but he let it go, unwilling to interrupt the story. "Apparently our friendly neighbourhood megalomaniac's going for yet another stab at the whole world domination gig, he's building what, his thousandth fortress and his millionth giant death machine thingy? Anyway, so the three of us are gonna go check it out - well, me and Tails only if Knux goes off on one about the Master Emerald - and blow it up. _Again._ I-"

Sonic had miscalculated.

Swirling pain and anger suddenly flared into life in jade green eyes as the last few words left Sonic's lips, and the girl's head snapped up to glare venomously at the one who had been helping her to walk. She shoved herself away from him to stand alone, shakily - but in no danger of falling.

"Amy? Wh-?"

"You want to know what? How _long_ have I known you, Sonic? How _long_ have I tried to be the best friend I can be to you? Nearly five _years_. So don't you think I shouldn't have to chase you around before you'll talk to me? Before you'll give me any more attention than a pebble on the road? When we've ended up fighting together, it's because I found out about it _myself,_ not because you thought that maybe - just _maybe_ - I'd like to help out! Or how about when life is _normal_? Tell me, Sonic, just _tell_ me how often you've ever decided to hang around with me, to take an interest in _anything_ I do? Oh, you're always off racing Shadow again, or hanging out at Tails' workshop mucking around with the stupid _Tornado_, or you're pissing off Knuckles on Angel Island, or you're even running around in a parallel dimension with some princess, but just tell me, when have you ever come looking for me to have fun or just have a conversation or _anything?!_"

"Ames-" Sonic didn't want to hear any more. This must have been why she was out there alone - and she had to have felt like this, been hiding it for years... His fault?

But she paid no heed to the anguish her words were causing, the only difference that they were quieter now, more subdued, but no less heartfelt.

"Never, Sonic. You never do. And I've _tried,_ so hard, done everything, _everything_ I can to help you, to make your day just that little bit better... I've changed for you, Sonic - I've become a different person, a better person. I used to be an immature, clingy kid, but I saw you hated it, so I adjusted. I didn't think about it, I just did. I can run and I can fight because I wanted to be able to impress you, Sonic, I wanted to do things that you did because it was you doing them. But now..."

_Don't Amy, don't..._

"Now, I realise something... I don't know. I just don't know anymore. I don't think it ever really mattered, any of it - I don't think you even noticed. I- I don't know that you even _care!_ And have you _any_ idea how that _feels,_ Sonic? Do you have any idea how much it_ hurts_ to feel your heart being ripped into shreds _every single day?_"

Silent tears were slipping from her bitterly tormented eyes and her frame was shaking violently; as she finished her voice splintered, and she relinquished the last shreds of emotional control, crumpling into rending sobs. Already scraped knees buckled and pitched the broken girl to the pavement where she stayed, kneeling, head cradled in trembling hands as the waves of suffering began to drag her back beneath their surface.

A moment passed in stunned quietude. Sonic's jaw hung slightly agape, his eyes fixed on the crying girl while his mind was in a whirl, completely taken aback. How could someone like Amy - bubbly, cheerful, perpetually upbeat Amy - feel so heartbroken inside? And to have hidden it for such a long time... Tails just stood there helplessly, a look of confusion clear on his face, it utterly plain that he didn't understand. He thought of Amy as relatively normal, unshakably energetic... Maybe just a bit obsessive over his big brother, maybe a little too trigger-happy when it came to that hammer of hers, but still...

_Jeez, what the hell am I supposed to do? I didn't... She's not..._ Sonic was at a loss, had no idea how he was supposed to react to one of his closest friends not only collapsing in an alleyway, freezing, on the other side of the city from home, but then turning out to be devastated and overwrought over _him,_ which shook him more than anything else; wasn't _he_ the one supposed to stop things from hurting his friends? - and now she'd sunk back to the floor and was trembling with unrestrained anguish.

He acted instinctively, doing the only thing he could think of to comfort the pink hedgehog; he dropped to his knees on the ground beside her and wrapped his arms around her, folding her into a tight hug as he eased them both back to their feet.

"Sonic? Sonic, I'll go on ahead to Knux, okay?" Tails spoke softly, trying to avoid disturbing Amy - now crying quietly into Sonic's chest with one arm slung loosely around his neck, the other hand futilely attempting to stifle the whimpers still coming from her throat. The cobalt hedgehog glanced at him and nodded slightly, indicating his agreement. The fox paused for a moment to spin his tails a couple of times before jumping into the air and flying away from the pair, leaving them alone in the dark night.

He looked back down at the pink hedgehog cradled in his arms. Though the rattling sobs had quieted, the trickle of tears hadn't ceased, even if they had calmed and slowed. Sonic's eyes closed in thought.

_Heh... if Ames was feeling alright, she'd be so ecstatic right now. She'd announce a moonlight hug was romantic and turn and grin like it was the best thing in the world..._ A brief smile played across his lips. She's always so easy to read... But his thoughts faltered there; he'd never seen any of the pain she'd been hiding, had he? But everything Amy'd said... it was all truth, he didn't - couldn't - doubt that for a second. Now he thought about it... He reopened his eyes, hugging the girl closer in an attempt to maybe heal just a little of the damage he'd unintentionally caused. She was hiding her face in his peach chest fur; he could only hope her expression wasn't the tortured one from - was it only minutes? It felt like hours - earlier.

_So... what am I going to do about it now...?_

**--XOX--**

**Original A/N:** Okay, first chapter done. Updates will be kind of erratic, as I haven't got the entire storyline planned out in my head. I have some scenes later on practically writing themselves, though. Funny how that happens. Anyway, if you read, please review!

**Author's Note:** Well, looks like I'm going to contradict myself here and say, yes, I have the entire story planned out... though updates _will_ be kind of erratic, 'cause I do have a tendency to procrastinate and/or get snowed under by homework. But wait! There's the NEW chapter for you! Click that there next button for all it's worth xD!


	2. Choices Made

**Author's Note:** I had this huge rant about how sorry I am for having pretty much abandoned this story, but I didn't want to depress anyone (including myself xP) so I'll just say this;

I'm really sorry for failing at managing to keep up with this gig, but I swear, I'm trying to be better at it D: Balancing it with homework and other little projects of mine, while I'm probably the worst procrastinator and most easily distracted person on the planet... Well, you can guess how it turns out every time xD Thank you for those five reviews, they brighten my day every time I see that little number :D

Um, _Rush of Flames_, I swear will be updated in the next month... or two. Maybe three. Um. I think. I have most of the chapter written, I _think_, I just need to piece it together and edit it into something nicer to read than descriptive notes xD

I've renamed this story _The Never-Breaking Dawn_ - for anyone who remembers, it used to be called _Truth And Pain, Lies And Love_, but it didn't fit my new plot (or the old one, really xD) and I like this one much better anyway :P

For any way-back-when (xD) readers who (for some inexplicable reason xD) remembered the first chapter and haven't looked back at it - please go back and read it. I've done a complete rewrite of it, following the original's structure, and editing it in places to match the plot I've finally found for this thing~ ! I'm also trying out the custom of finding lyrics from songs to match a chapter's tone, and so far it's working out rather well 8D. It might be something I adopt into my writing style, or just a trial in this fic, but I quite like it :P

Thank you so, so much for the reviews, honestly. It makes me so happy to know that even a few people liked this enough to comment on it, and I really hope that the newer - and hopefully improved - writing style of mine is as liked as my old one :). Responses are just a little further down ;P.

Don t ask about the length D: I honestly don t know how it got so long, and I can t see anywhere to split it into two chapters xD I think the whole chapter s 5,416 words long, 6,306 including everything else as well xD

I think that's it~ ! Thank you, and read on! :D

... Maybe review & critique, plox? :3

**-XOX-**

**Review Responses~ !**

**- LimeGreeen :;** Thank you for the review :D! And, um, it's been well over a year; not exactly soon, but better late than never, I hope!

**- DC111 :;** Excuse me while I just say some of your fics are awesome, though I haven't looked at them in a while... _{makes note to do so}_. I've noticed that about some SonAmy fics too - it doesn't sit right with me. I just wrote them how it seem natural for them x) Thank you for the review, and I hope the new version of the first chapter characterizes them similarly... I don't know how it compares, but I dislike the old one in terms of writing quality a lot now xD;

**- Samantha27 :;** Thank you! I can't believe I was 12 when I started this - long time ago, I'm 14 in a few days xD; But I can't bear to look at the old chapter any more, so I hope the new one is as well received :D Also, I continued it... finally xP

**- hello :;** Why, thank you. :D

**- ksonic :;** Thank you, and for the review :) And yes, I've finally got around to continuing it (after getting on for 17 months! D:) so here we are! (Side note: I recognise your penname - you have those Kyler fics, don't you? I remember reading one of them a while back, I never finished it though... _{Makes another note}_)

**-XOX-**

**The Never-Breaking Dawn**

**{Chapter Two :; Choices Made}**

**-XOX-**  
_Is it enough to love?_  
_Is it enough to breathe?_  
_Somebody rip my heart out,_  
_And leave me here to bleed._  
_Is it enough to die?_  
_Somebody save my life!_  
_I'd rather be anything but ordinary, please._

..:: Anything But Ordinary - Avril Lavigne ::..  
**-XOX-**

He had no idea how long he stood there in the dim street, comforting the crying hedgehog. It could have been minutes or hours... or maybe only a few seconds. It didn't really matter.

Amy Rose held onto Sonic desperately, as if he might suddenly fade away and vanish without warning and leave her all alone. She could feel one of his gloved hands move from her back, and then begin stroking her quills in an effort, she guessed, to calm her down. Amy wasn't sure if it was working, or if the heaviness of her eyelids was to do with her abrupt lack of energy. She felt drained, tired - but it still came as a surprise when the tension left her limbs and she slumped against the cobalt hedgehog. She was so sleepy...

Sonic caught the girl easily as she relaxed, holding her upright with little trouble. As he listened, her erratic gasping subsided into more peaceful, occasionally hitching breaths and he was relieved; maybe she would be alright. Maybe. He hated to see people were upset, especially his friends... even worse when it was something he'd done. His mind wandering, he glanced up at the velvety black sky, each star that dotted its expanse sparkling brightly, lighting up the night.

The amaranth pink hedgehog dragged his attention back to her when she took a deep, shuddering gulp of air and released it slowly. Winter was well on its way - the hedgehog could see his breath misting in the air - and the nights were frosty with temperatures dropping close to zero. They couldn't stay there. Amy had to get home, get some sleep... and she wasn't far from falling asleep in his arms, Sonic could tell.

"Ames? C'mon, let's get you home..." he muttered to her, not wanting to startle her any more than necessary.

"Hmm." Her left arm, the one that had before been pressed against her mouth, had snaked around the cobalt hedgehog's neck without either of them noticing, her face hidden, still buried in Sonic's peach chest fur.

He paused for a moment, unsure just how he was going to go about getting Amy home, before gently unwinding her arms and bending down a little to scoop her up, tucking her against his chest. It surprised him how easy it was to lift her, how light she was. Sonic began walking, the pace deliberately fluid so as not to jolt Amy, treading the not-quite-familiar path to the girl's home.

The younger hedgehog let an unnoticed sigh escape her lips as she curled into herself tighter, nestling deeper into the chest of the cobalt hero, and let herself be carried along the dark, shadowed streets, too exhausted and hurt to do anything else.

**-XOX-**

Some twenty-seven minutes later Sonic found himself stood, frowning slightly, before the red oak door that let into Amy's third floor apartment; locked, and he doubted there was any way he could get it open without waking the girl in his arms completely from her trance-like state. He wasn't left to wonder for long though, as the pink hedgehog - seemingly reading his mind - stirred and murmured just barely loud enough for him to hear, "Necklace..."

He understood then, and shifted Amy in his arms so that he could reach one hand around and slip the fine golden chain out from under the white halterneck of her dress. What was evidently the key he was after - it looked strikingly similar to the door handle and lock - hung beside a tiny heart shaped charm - no, a locket. It was a dark caramel-gold, with what looked like small scarlet rubies embedded into the engraved pattern of endless swirls, and a minute clasp on one edge, opposite an equally miniature hinge.

Emerald eyes stared at the locket in silent contemplation. It wasn't something he'd ever seen Amy wearing before, or even holding or fiddling with... it was clearly both old and expensive, but what intrigued him was the question of what Amy would keep in there. Something about it said it wasn't just a photo of her crush or her best friend.

Before he knew what he was doing, he'd reached out and turned over the pendant to look at the back. The gold there was completely smooth except for one small inscription in delicate, curving script:

_Pour Jamais et Toujours._

It was a moment before the cobalt hedgehog grasped that it was foreign; languages had never been his strong point and he couldn't even guess at the meaning of the phrase. He contemplated opening the locket, seeing what was inside... but no. He wouldn't betray Amy's trust, not after tonight. Not after what she'd said. His fingers left the pendant and moved on to unhook the dark auburn-bronze key from its place beside it, moving Amy again, so that he could reach forward and, having unlocked the door, stepped into the apartment.

Placing the key still held in his hand down on the small table just inside, he looked around at the room he now found himself in to determine where to take Amy. He'd been here before, of course, but not often - and not for a long time. She'd redecorated. It felt more spacious, less cluttered, with its pale pine floor and lilac walls, and the large windows that looked out over the city. A ruby-red sofa and matching rug were among the only pieces of furniture in the room; it looked far nicer than the previous glaring pinks of all shades. Many photographs and paintings decorated every wall; Amy was a skilled photographer and artist by the look of it, though drawings clearly by Cream - but just as treasured - were among the other frames. The picture that caught his attention was also the largest in the room, a photo of him asleep on a green-and-white deckchair. It must have been taken on the group's last vacation together, to Seaside Hill... A smile crept onto his lips, when a sleepy sigh from Amy reminded him of what he was looking for.

Moving towards the door his memory told him led into the pink hedgehog's bedroom, he nudged it open - it had been left ajar - and entered the sky blue room beyond. Pine flooring again, white wooden furniture and an azure rug, alongside a midnight blue bed with a wrought iron bedframe and cerulean pillows. It was very..._ blue_, the hedgehog thought with a grin, before carrying Amy over to the bed in question and, pulling back the quilt, finally laying her down on the mattress. A moment later he lightly tugged her boots from her feet, placing them beside the bed, and threw the duvet over her softly-snoring form gently enough not to wake her.

_Guess I can go find Tails and Knux now,_ the hedgehog thought enthusiastically. _Ames is home and sleeping, and..._ His feet had carried him to the door out of the apartment, deftly closing the door to Amy's room, but he froze just inside the threshold as a new voice slipped unbidden into his mind.

_What about when she wakes up?_ Shaking his head failed to dislodge the idea.

_What if she remembers nothing?_ The way things had gone tonight, that might not be such a bad thing, but how would she react to having a blank space where her memories of the night before should be?

_Or what if she does remember? What if she thinks I've abandoned her again?_ Considering what had been said, Sonic really didn't think that would go down well.

He cursed inwardly. Half of him - no, most of him if he was being honest - wanted to get going, to catch up with Tails, to do something else. But there was another, smaller but no less determined part of him that was telling him _No. You can't. Amy's going to need someone there when she wakes up. It's your fault; sort it out, deal with the consequences. Tails and Knuckles are perfectly capable of handling this one themselves. Stay here._

It was with a mildly irritated sigh that the cobalt hedgehog gave into the defiant voice and its logic, turning away and closing the door with a muffled thud! He didn't resent taking care of Amy - she was his friend, a close one at that, and he'd hurt her badly - but...

Sonic tramped over to the crimson sofa he'd spotted earlier and slumped onto it heavily. _May as well get some sleep if I'm not going anywhere... S'pose I'll see Ames in the morning._ With that thought floating through his mind, blue eyelids drooped and closed, and the hedgehog was asleep in minutes, slipping sideways until his head was cushioned on the sofa's armrest and he was lying down in relative comfort.

**-XOX-**

When she awoke, Amy didn't notice at first. Her sleep had been dreamless, and feeling so warm and contented, it was near indistinguishable from the peaceful unconsciousness. In fact, she wouldn't mind remaining like this forever... But there was something, something that her mind wouldn't let go. Something about last night, something about... Sonic?

Jade eyes shot open, but the memories that came rushing back didn't completely fill the emptiness in her mind - but what she did remember, she remembered with acute clarity as if it had been burned into her thoughts.

It had been late, so cold and dark, and she'd been so tormented... Her heart twinged with a reminder of what it had felt like alone, trapped inside her mind in that alley.

Then Sonic and Tails had found her, and she'd been too out of it to react. Sonic had been talking about something - she couldn't remember what, only that it had been trivial. But then... something in her had snapped, she'd lashed out, snarled at him, wanted to force him to understand how she felt, and the reason... She'd wanted... Hell, she didn't know what she'd wanted. Why couldn't she remember?

And how had she gotten home?

Unwilling to dwell on the gloomy thoughts until she could think straight, the cerise hedgehog pushed herself upright, shoving the covers back at the same time, but then stopped, looking down at herself and blinking in surprise. She never slept fully dressed, not even when she was exhausted, she always pulled her pyjamas on - and when she swung her legs over the side of the bed and found her boots only inches from her bare feet, she frowned in confusion.

_Strange. I usually leave them by the wardrobe._

Nevertheless, she pulled them on and stood up, barely bothering to smooth her ruffled dress and tousled fur as she shuffled from her bedroom, rubbing bleary green eyes. Taking the door nearest the one she'd just left, she entered her kitchen with the intention of getting some coffee into her system, hoping it might wake her up enough to remember the rest of last night. It took her a moment to fill the kettle and she left it to boil, wandering back into the main room and over to the television. She meant to turn it on and collapse on the sofa until the water was ready, but she didn't manage to do either of these things. Mainly because someone had apparently beaten her to the collapsing on the sofa part of her plan.

"Sonic?"

The hedgehog twitched at the noise in the previously quiet apartment, and his left arm fell from the sofa so that it was brushing the floor. The words "Gimme few mo' minutes..." were distinctly muffled by the fact his face was mashed into the armrest.

Now Amy was really at a loss as for what to say. Well, anything to say that didn't run somewhere along the lines of _'What the hell are you doing sleeping on the sofa in my apartment?'_

"Uh... er, do you want a coffee?"

The mention of caffeine apparently dragged him out of dreamland - he started shoving himself upright enough to say "Yeah, thanks..." without the armrest getting in the way, then sat up and rubbed the back of his head.

"Okay then, just a minute..." The pink hedgehog vanished back into the kitchen, and a few seconds later, the clattering of cupboard and mugs could be heard, then the pouring of a drink into one, two cups. A moment later, she emerged, a mug of steaming coffee in each hand. She held one out to Sonic, and he accepted it gratefully, shuffling over on the sofa at the same time so that Amy could sit down next to him.

"Sonic?" The rose-furred hedgehog began, but then lapsed into silence.

"Mmmhmm?"

"I... How did I get home?" Buying a little time - not that she wasn't curious, of course, but...

"I carried you back - you're really light, you know." He grinned at her.

"And decided to crash on my sofa too?" Amy replied, a smile dancing on her lips. It would be so easy...

"Pretty much, yeah." The grin turned slightly sheepish.

It would be so easy to ignore this, she knew. So easy to forget last night. Bury it. Pretend it never happened. Never mention it, never think of it again.

So easy to fool herself again...

After all, that was what she'd been doing until she'd cracked the night before.

Her heart stung and caught again, worse than before. _Never again!_

A few minutes passed in silence.

But shouldn't she try and make amends? The thought of how she must've made Sonic feel made her physically sick. Things were raw, but she had to do what she could to smooth it over. In her mind, it wasn't a matter of choice.

"Sorry."

"Huh?"

"I'm sorry. About last night, I mean. I..." Amy trailed off, unable to straighten out the words she wanted to say.

Forest green eyes flicked over, trying to find jade ones only a few shades lighter than his own, but they stared down into an untouched mug of swirling russet-brown coffee. Her expression was that of someone concentrating with every scrap of willpower they possessed. Were her eyes too bright, shining unnaturally?

"_Oh._"

His expression didn't clear; why she was the one apologising to him - wasn't it his fault?

"Sorry. I just... I- I took frustration out on you that I shouldn't have, I was unfair-"

"Ames, Amy, listen to me. I know you meant everything you said last night, but please, please, _please_ don't feel bad for it. I'm the one who should be saying sorry, aren't I?"

Her jade eyes rose to meet his then, but there was a dullness in them, behind the shimmer of unshed tears - but then she blinked and it was gone, and she looked nothing but slightly forlorn. And then even that faded swiftly as she cracked a slight smile. As if it had never been there at all.

"I am sorry Amy. Really. But... we're cool, right?" Sonic asked, an anxious tone overlaid into the words. Amy would forgive him, wouldn't she?

"Yeah. Yeah, of course!" the pink hedgehog's voice rang happily - the barest touch of hysteria going unnoticed by the pair of them.

The grin returned to Sonic's face even wider that before. "Awesome!" He didn't say anything else though, mostly because his own stomach interrupted with an audible growl.

Amy had to try very, very hard to stifle a giggle at that - hand clapped over mouth and all - and even then, only partially succeeded.

"Want some toast? I feel like I haven't eaten in forever _either-_"

A light knock from behind them caused her to break off her sentence. "Typical." She rolled her eyes dramatically. "Hang on a sec, I'll answer it."

The younger of the pair stood and padded over to the oak door, the small metallic heels on her boots making each step create a quiet clicking noise on the wooden flooring.

Turning the handle, Amy pulled the door open, and upon instantly recognising her visitor, gestured for them to come in. "Oh, hi!"

Sonic half-turned, looking over the back of the sofa and trying to see who it was at the door - no such luck, his friend was motioning for the caller to enter, but whoever it was still outside in the hall and blocked from view.

"Eh, it s okay Amy, I was just wondering if Sonic's here..."

"Lil' bro! Hey!"

Amy was already moving back into the room, a look of amusement on her face, as she let Tails bound past her and skid to a stop in front of Sonic, arms folded and mock-glaring at his adopted brother. Who was grinning like a Cheshire cat at his best friend's expression.

"Geez, I've been looking _everywhere_ for you! I was beginning to think that you'd gone on to Angel Island and I'd already missed you! Would it _kill_ you to hang around somewhere where people know they can find you?"

"Yup!" Sonic answered, still smirking. The small fox rolled his cerulean eyes and heaved a long-suffering sigh, shaking his head. "Anything happen after you met up with Knux, then?"

"Eh, not really. Charmy figured it was getting quiet, so..."

No more explanation was necessary; simultaneously Amy - who had now closed the door again and come to sit on the sofa's armrest - and Sonic rolled their eyes and grinned broadly. The bee was well known for his persistence in making sure no-one and nothing was left undisturbed by some kind of prank for very long.

"What'd he do?" Amy was curious.

"Turns out he's been getting clever. He faked a phone call to the agency, which Vector then showed to Espio, who contacted Knuckles, who called us..."

Sonic snorted. "Oh man, remind me to congratulate the kid. I swear, he gets better at pranking every day..."

"_Yeeeah,_ and that's another thing. Knux gave me instructions to inform you that, and I quote, 'If he doesn't get his spiny blue ass up to Angel Island in twenty-four hours to explain in person precisely why Charmy's developing his exact same sense of immature humour, then I'll drag him up here myself and throw him into the nearest ocean.' Unquote."

The pink hedgehog grinned - Knuckles was so easy to wind up sometimes. "Figures."

It was only with a vast amount of effort that Sonic wasn't rolling on the floor, howling with laughter - but that was clear in the shaking of his shoulder as he doubled over, clutching his sides.

"Oh,_ wow..._" He gasped out as soon as he could speak. "He's twigged it wasn't Vector or Mighty who gave Charmy paint and plans to cover every rock in green and leave a note saying _'Good luck guarding them all~'_? Or when a bunch of grapes were mashed up and tipped over his head in the early hours?"

"Not yet. But I think he's gonna be interrogating you, without any good-cop-bad-cop stuff." The fox was grinning ear to ear.

"Oh, wow..."

The pair of them dissolved into fits of sniggering again. Amy shook her head hopelessly at their antics.

After they'd manage to control their snickering, she jumped to her feet and whirled around on her toes to ask them; "So, do you guys want any toast or coffee, or...?"

"Nope, but thanks anyway Amy! I'm under orders here, gotta get this joker up to Angel Island pronto."

"Oh, that's right - you're the fuzz, aren't you, Tails? The fuzz _ball!_"

"_No!_ My powers are useless against your _awful_ puns!"

"My puns are bad? You're learning from the master, kiddo, but you haven't got a passing grade yet!"

Amy watched their good-natured bickering for a minute, before drifting off into a daydream. _Wouldn't it be nice...?_

"Hey, Ames?"

"Hm?" She snapped out of it.

"Thanks for the coffee. And letting me kip on your couch... uh, even though you didn't exactly know about it at the time." He smiled at her. "But we gotta get going."

"Oh, okay." The three of them padded over to the exit together and the rose-furred hedgehog pulled open the door and held it as first Tails, then Sonic crossed the threshold.

"Bye, Amy!" called Tails, airborne and hovering at eye level. Sonic hesitated just outside of the door.

"Um... Tails, I'll catch you up in a minute, okay?"

"Oh... alright then, Sonic!" The fox understood instantly, landing with a slight bump on the carpeted corridor floor and his footsteps faded away as he walked towards the staircase.

Amy lingered beside the door she still held open. Sonic watched Tails disappear, before turning towards her with a half-smile on his face.

The pink hedgehog was a little confused. "Sonic?"

He drew in a deep breath, leaning against the doorframe for support.

"Look, Ames, I've got to go now, but maybe... I dunno, maybe I could swipe the Tornado off Tails and we could go hang out someplace, uh... tomorrow?" He bit his lip, almost nervous again; what if she didn't want to be around him anymore? She'd forgiven him, right? Making amends hadn't felt this daunting before - but possibly it was just that he hadn't done something on this scale before. That had to be it.

"That'd be... nice." A wide smile broke onto Amy's face, her eyes lighting up with a warm glow and taking on a shine. Sonic couldn't help but grin in return; Amy's happiness was always infectious.

"Great! Heh... _Man,_ Knux'll kill me if I don't get going, though. See you, Ames!" With a little wave, he stood up straight again and began to saunter away.

"Bye, Sonic..."

The pink hedgehog pushed against the door to close it.

The moment the door clicked shut, Sonic leapt up and punched the air, and would have shouted a resounding _Yes!_ Had it not been likely that both Amy and every other tenant would have heard him and more likely than not, told him to shut it, national hero status aside.

He could have high-fived himself; he'd fixed things up with Amy - she was back to her usual, cheerful self!

Well, apart from the whole _tackle-to-the-floor-"Will-you-marry-me?"_ thing, but Sonic wasn't complaining - hell, hanging around with her could be pretty fun if she was going to be like this all the time.

In that content mindset, the cobalt hedgehog bounded down the hallway and stairs to where Tails was waiting for him.

**-XOX-**

The moment the door clicked shut, the expression burned away from Amy's face and she fell against the wood, forehead slamming into it with a muffled thump and fingers clawing at it desperately. Her features screwed up in agony and she gritted her teeth in determination, fiercely trying to keep back the howl of distress that threatened to break free. _I can't do this!_

Drawing a deep, ragged breath, her hands slid down the oak until they hung helplessly by her sides, and she twisted, leaning heavily on her shoulder against the door._ I can't do this._

Another breath. When she was sure she could control herself, she opened her eyes and was surprised to find the sliver she could see of her living room swimming. A trembling hand rose to her face and felt the soaked fur under her eyes; tears that had overspilled but gone unnoticed. The same hand brushed them roughly away.

It hadn't been acting, not really. She couldn't help herself. He was there, and it had been so easy to forget why. How she'd admitted to herself she was living in her own self-deception the night before, how much that cost her.

But it hit her all over again when she realised what she was doing. Slipping back under.

Was it always going to be this way?

What was the saying? The further you floated up in your bubble of happiness, the further you had to fall when it burst.

Well, this was the falling - she doubted she'd already hit rock bottom. Yet.

And she couldn't face the possibility of climbing again only to plummet. No, not a possibility; inevitability.

So where did this leave her?

The same old routine; she could feel it creeping over her.

_I can't stay._

The realisation hit her like icy water, freezing as it trickled slowly down her spine.

If she remained, she'd be trapped. Back to the endless cycle she knew so well but was only just distinguishing from the life it was so ingrained into. And just the idea of that... she bit her lip to keep from whimpering.

So she had to escape it. Somehow.

Abruptly an image she hadn't thought of for years flashed before her shining eyes.

_Grandmother?_

The woman that stood beside the door of a beautiful house in the illusion nodded and smiled at her. _You can always come home, Amy Rose. Remember that._

The last words her grandmother had spoken to her echoed through the mirage, distorting it until it faded away, leaving her wide eyes staring only at the panorama of the city beyond her window.

_You can always come home..._

An idea of somewhere to go, and the motivation. All that was necessary to begin a journey.

Well, then. The choice was made.

She drifted across the floor until she entered her bedroom, rummaged through drawers and boxes until she found a decently sized bag that she would be able to carry without trouble, and began to pack.

**-XOX-**

An hour and thirty-nine minutes later, Amy stood beside her rucksack looking around at the place that had been her residence for over four years for the last time.

She'd miss this place. She'd honestly felt like this... this was where she belonged. But it was time to return to her old home... Her real home.

Her eyes, like small chips of shining jade, were still wandering across the room. And then something drew her gaze.

A small wooden box, painted with intricate flowers and decorations. It must have surface while she was looking through all her belongings, just in case there was something she'd missed.

How could she have missed _this?_

Before she knew what she was doing, her feet had carried her to the shelf where the box rested, and her hands had reached up and lifted it from its perch. Her fingers manoeuvred expertly, having done this a thousand times before - but not recently. The lid slid back, revealing a deck of cards; but not an ordinary one.

_My tarot cards..._

Abruptly, she snapped the lid back in place and took it over to her bag, placing it safely hidden at the bottom. She didn't want to look at them now... but they could be needed. Maybe. She hadn't so much as glanced at them since she'd left all those years ago...

Before she closed her backpack though, she remembered one thing. The pink hedgehog spun on her heel so fast she was a blur and she almost flew back into her bedroom. The belongings in there weren't as neat as they once had been, but Amy threw them haphazardly around as she searched for what she wanted. It was almost a surprise when she found it, a maroon leather-bound book.

Sighing, she sank down onto her bed and began flipping through the pages of her photo album gradually.

By the time she'd reached the fourth photograph, her eyes were stinging, and by the ninth, droplets of salt water were landing on the plastic covers over each picture. Each image chronicling her time with the best friends in the world... One of her with Cream, Vanilla and the Chaotix on a picnic... Another, of the time when she had met Big; Cream had taken that photo - Cheese was hovering above Froggy. The hedgehog sat there for a long time, studying each and every picture intensely. Hours passed; the sky grew darker as the amber glow of sunset receded beyond the horizon - and finally, she came to the last filled page, before gently resting her hand upon it and letting her eyelids slowly fall closed.

There must have been hundreds of photographs she'd taken during her time here, but there was a little space left in the back of the heavy book, perfect for what she had in mind.

Amy stood once more, and setting the photo album carefully aside she wandered around her apartment slipping drawings and pictures from their simple glass frames. Once she'd collected them all, the hedgehog returned to the book and placed each one gently into a cover, leaving the space for labels blank - each photograph already had a note written on the reverse side. When she'd finished, there was room for just one more image. She left it empty - there was nothing to fill it with. _Unless..._

She reached over and picked up a photo frame that had stood on her bedside table beside her lamp and alarm clock. The picture it contained was one of her, and Sonic, in one of the moments where they'd been together, and she could almost imagine... Amy left that thought unfinished. The pair of them were sat on a log in a forest, had been laughing so hard at something he'd said, leaning against each other for support, but this was the moment after - the moment when they'd both opened shining green eyes with tears of mirth and looked at one another, grinning happily. Just happily, so naturally...

The hedgehog gritted her teeth and replaced the frame. She wouldn't need it where she was going.

Slipping to her feet again, Amy softly closed the leather-bound book and returned to her rucksack with it held in her hands. Kneeling next to the bag, she packed it in beside the wooden box she'd put in there hours earlier and finally, zipped it shut. The contents of her life in a small backpack. Of course, there was some food, all her money, a change of clothes and a blanket in there, but she didn't need much - just enough to last her until she was far enough away from here to find shops and maybe hostels that she wouldn't be expected to go to. Going it alone under her own steam, at least for some of the long journey ahead of her, seemed the best way she could avoid detection. Also the reason she wasn't even looking for a form of transport.

Chaos knew, it hadn't been so cloak-and-dagger coming in the other direction.

So this was it.

_The end._

The amaranth pink hedgehog lightly ran her fingers over the chain around her neck - it still hung loose outside of her halterneck, presumably from when she'd given Sonic the key last night - and then trailed them across the cool, smooth vanilla yellow envelope addressed simply as Cream in neat, slightly curly handwriting. _One last thing to do._

Bending, Amy picked up her bag and swung it over one shoulder, the other hand clutching the letter gently. Almost shuffling, she stepped over to the red oak door which led into the apartment block's third floor hallway, and paused, briefly, her jade eyes drifting to the key left in the exact spot Sonic had placed it the night before. Switching the envelope to her other hand, she lifted the dark auburn-bronze key and examined it absently, her warm breath tickling its cold, unfeeling surface. Closing her eyes and going a little limp, she opened the door before her and took the one step that left her outside blind. Lifting her eyelids again, she pulled the door shut, and having heard the latch click, she twisted the key until it was locked.

One-handed, she clipped the key onto her necklace and tucked it underneath her dress as she spun and began walking quietly down the corridor. Moments later, she stood in the cold of the midnight blue evening lit faintly by glowing streetlamps, glad that she had thought to bring a thick coat and scarf.

And then she turned away and walked into the night.

Turned and walked away to find a different future.

Turned and walked away from it all.

**-XOX-**

It. Is. _Finally. DONE! YESS! {Punches the air, Sonic-style!}_ xP

Guess what? It's my B-Day Jan 7th! Last thing I'll write for here when I'm still 13, methinks~ But don't worry, I'm not gonna lose interest (_again_ Dx) any time soon. Obsessive teenage fangirl, ahoy? xP

Buut, anyway. Rush of Flames' one year anniversary with little more than a prologue soon. Dx I'll get to work on that just as soon as I finish this history essay. Due in on my birthday, too. Evil teacher xD Last day of X-mas hols today (Well. Tomorrow. But I'm not uploading this tonight, it's late. WELL gone midnight. 3:15am. I should get some sleep. Wait, it IS today. I'll shut up now :3), get anything interesting? Sonic and the Black Knight, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (Wii), Sonic the Hedgehog (1991 version _{heart}_) AND Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings. Hm. You really can tell about the obsession thing, can't you? xD Haven't played any but Final Fantasy yet, I feel the compulsion to complete Secret Rings' Special Book first. _Damn gold medalss... Damn completionist attitude of minee..._ xD

'Kay, I'll shut up for a bit now xD

Review :3 ? _{Hands out cookies}_


	3. In Abscence

**Author's Note:** So... uhm. Yeah. The quick update I was hoping to make... didn't quite work out. Still shorter than before but it's still been just over... six... months... right? ._. _{Epic Phail}_

Not really any excuses this time. It might be all the new/old/new-old fandoms I find myself in again... Recently watched Code Geass and my _god_ I want to know why I haven't checked out any animes before this 8D Actually, I may well end up writing some stuff for it, Lelouch was just freaking _awesome_ :3 Blame is shared with both series of Merlin (Colin Morgan = _adorable_), and Doctor Who... and the new Alice in Wonderland film, even if it isn't quite so new anymore. Still love it~ _{heart}_ Probably more, but I'll shut up now~

Anyways... Manymany_many_ thankyous for all of the reviews and alerts and favourites. They make my day every time I see them _{heart}_! Gahh, I swear, I don't deserve them for being such a inattentive writer... _{flails}_ Thankyou so much everyone~! :3 Hopefully you'll enjoy the chapter :D

**-XOX-**

**Review Responses~ !**

**- Ksonic :;** Aww, the poor hedgie's_ trying _to be friendlier :P Ames just figured she'd run for it while everyone thought she was happy xP I can't wait to write the last few chapters though, they should involve a lot more fluffy fluff instead of heartbreak drama :3 Thanks for the review :D!

**- zeldamaster456 :;** Thank you for the reviews! Hope you enjoy this chapter and it's cookie as well x3!

**- Art1caNgEl999 :;** Thanks, and I... kind of? Did better with the update wait this time xD Blame various distractions and my teachers for the wait though, I did start this chapter before I ended up busy xD Still, I want to draw it out a little longer, I've realised there's not going to be a huge number of chapters xP

**- Xialdon :;** Ooh, thank you for voting :D! I meant to mention that, I want to know what kind of stuff people want me to write more of x3

**- BrilliantHighlights :;** As requested, here is moar story :)! Thank you for the review!

**- Rachael-1994 :;** I know, poor overwrought little hedgie D: But without drama there can be no justified fluffy cure at the end x3! Hence looking forward to the ending :D Thank you, and here's the continuation :P

**- SugarhogRose :;** I could tell you, but that would ruin the kinda non-existent surprise xD I'm glad you like it, and I wasn't sure how well that conversation came across - I get the feeling I'm pretty bad at writing humour but I wanted to break up the tension a little, so it ended up staying anyway xD Enjoy the update! :P

**- Shirls :; **Wow, thank you! I don't know what to say :') The idea mostly came from thinking, _what if Amy let all of the rejection get to her?_ And then it spiralled onwards xD Thank you so much for the positive review, and here's the next chapter :D

**- Mana the Cat Magician :;** Thank you for the kind review! :D I'm glad you're enjoying the story, and that you like the writing :P The title was a little tricky, but as soon as I knew what the setting would be, it seemed perfect :P I'm not sure if I should be pleased or not that the story makes you want to cry - I guess it was supposed to be quite sad xD Anyway, thank you very much, and the new chapter is here :D

**-XOX-**

**The Never-Breaking Dawn**

**{Chapter Three :; In Abscence}**

**-XOX-**  
_Oh, I couldn't tell you_  
_Why she felt that way -_  
_She felt it everyday._  
_And I couldn't help her -_  
_I just watched her make_  
_The same mistakes again._

..: Nobody's Home - Avril Lavigne :..  
**-XOX-**

The amaranth pink hedgehog's hand trembled as she stared hard at the envelope that contained her last words to her best friend.

_Is this a mistake?_

No, of that she was certain. And she was certain that this was the right place. Perfect, even.

A soft sigh, tinged with regret, escaped her. Then she tucked the pastel yellow envelope into a hollow at the base of the largest tree in the clearing, and turned away to leave for what she truly hoped wasn't forever.

**-XOX-**

_Dearest Cream,_

_I know you'll be the one to find this letter - which is why I left it here. You wouldn't let me disappear without searching for me, would you? You're looking in our clearing because it's safer than letting you roam the countryside alone - and besides, we were the two who knew the Ivy Trail Woods the best._

_I guess I've been missing for a few days now. Don't worry, I'm alright. I'm sorry I can't stay to say goodbye myself, I really am. But I had to get out while I could - and if I'd stayed, I'd have missed my chance. Besides, would any of you have let me go if you knew I was leaving? Yeah, I know - I regret it too._

_I won't tell you where I'm going - it's a place unmarked on most maps, and it's best it stays that way - only that I'm going back home to stay with my grandmother, like I did before Eggman showed up and any of this really started. I've got to find somewhere to clear my head, away from it all, and it's long past time I should've gone back anyway._

_I swear on my life, Cream, this isn't goodbye forever. I need some time, that's all. I just don't know how much._

_One last request, Cream? Don't tell anyone about this letter, please. I don't want them to worry about me, but... Well, they'd try to find me, and I need them to stay away._

_I impatiently await the day we'll meet again, little sister. However soon, it'll be too long._

_Love,_

_Amy Rose x_

**-XOX-**

Scarlet sneakered feet stopped just outside of the door, sliver-grey soles resting on the mat placed to wipe dirt from shoes before entrance.

It was only with slight apprehension that a white-gloved hand raised and knocked on the wood twice. Really, he still had no idea where he was going to take Amy; when he'd filled Tails in yesterday, the fox had suggested somewhere on Green or Westside Island, but Sonic couldn't think where to visit. Or if Amy would even enjoy herself. Maybe he should just let her choose a location... and he doubted Twinkle Park would be on the list.

The hedgehog knocked on the door again, too lost in his thoughts to think much of the lack of response - but when there was no reply for the second time, it broke his concentration.

Sonic rapped on the wood a little harder this time - he couldn't hear water running, but perhaps Amy was in the shower or the kitchen and couldn't hear him?

"Ames? Amy!"

Only silence emanated from the door. Maybe- maybe Amy had nipped out to the corner shop? Though that didn't explain the sickness suddenly coiling around in his stomach; something wasn't right, and he knew it.

But - if she had just gone out - surely she wouldn't mind if he let himself in. Sonic reached out and grasped the door handle with his right hand, and turned it anti-clockwise.

Locked.

The nausea was growing stronger. Amy'd known he was coming to see her today. She wasn't the type to forget something like that. And in the past, he'd heard Cream mention - Amy never locks her apartment when she's expecting visitors.

So what was going on...?

There was something wrong. He could feel it.

**-XOX-**

Cream's house was situated just beyond the outskirts of the city; it wasn't a long journey from Amy's apartment building, and in his inexplicably uneasy state, it took Sonic even less time to run there than normal. The rabbit he was looking for was sat outside in the emerald grass, braiding flowers into delicate chains; how Vanilla coaxed her garden into growing them year-round - regardless of weather - mystified him.

The hedgehog wandered over and knelt down beside her, the sound of his footsteps as they brushed through the thick lawn announcing his arrival. "Hey, Cream."

"Mr. Sonic!"

"Aww, _Cream_... I've told you not to call me that, you're making me feel old!"

The wheat-furred rabbit didn't answer, instead leaping to her feet to drape the newly-finished chain of blue-and-ivory wildflowers around one of Sonic's ears like a wonky crown. Sonic let her, a slight grin on his face despite the reason he was there; Cream carried an aura of cuteness around her the way other kids toted along a favourite teddy bear.

"Say, Cream, have you seen Amy today?"

"Hm? No, Mr- Sonic." the peach rabbit corrected herself. "I went to see her just this morning but she must have been out somewhere."

There was that queasiness again, like the sensation of nervous butterflies, only somehow more... sinister. "Is Vanilla inside, Cream?"

"When I left the house, Mother was baking a cake..."

"Thanks, kiddo."

Sonic knocked on the front door before letting himself inside at the declared "Come in!" A moment later he was stood in the kitchen, behind Vanilla as she put the finishing touches to the frosting on a beautifully crafted, layered chocolate cake. The motherly rabbit had always had a certain flair for baking, amongst other things, and she was teaching her daughter well.

"Vanilla? Vanilla, can I please borrow the spare key to Amy's apartment? It's urgent." Sonic, despite not wanting to appear rude, didn't give the older rabbit a chance to greet him in return, his irrational anxiety instead allowing his voice to betray his impatience.

Ever-understanding and amicable, Vanilla didn't mind, instead saying, "Of course, Sonic, just one moment." She rinsed her hands under warm running water from the tap, and as she crossed the room, dried them on the edge of her apron. Opening the small cabinet and removing the key from the hook it hung from by its ring, she turned around and handed it to the blue-furred hedgehog. "Here you are, dear."

"Thank you, Vanilla, you're a lifesaver. I really have to go now, though..."

"Of course," the rabbit said again, brushing the tuft of tawny fur amongst the buff out of her chocolate eyes. "Good luck, Sonic."

The hedgehog nodded and grinned his appreciation, and then was gone, shouting a farewell over his shoulder as he left to Cream, still curled up in the grass and braiding yet another of her endless flower chains, this one of forget-me-nots, daisies and some other red-tinged pink flower he didn't recognise. Reminded, the cobalt hedgehog snagged the wonky flower crown from his head and wrapped it twice around his wrist so that it wouldn't fly off as he ran; whenever Cream gave him one, he usually left it in a bowl of water in Tails' house until the flowers eventually wilted.

Now to just track down Amy Rose.

**-XOX-**

Stood outside Amy's door once more, Sonic tried the door handle again without much hope, and when it proved useless he almost fumbled with the spare key in his haste to slip it into the keyhole and unlock the door. At the sound of the latch clicking, the hedgehog pushed the door open and stepped over the threshold, calling out as he looked around himself and closed the door behind him. "Amy?"

The room was... bare. Or not _bare_, exactly, just devoid of the character it was supposed to display. Every photograph and picture missing from its frame, items thrown not-quite-haphazardly about. And the place felt... empty.

A glacial trail slowly trickled down his spine. Instinct trying to tell him what his mind hadn't quite worked out yet.

The entire apartment was deathly silent, not even the groaning of a recently used water pipe or music from a radio turned on and left forgotten to show a sign of life.

Without conscious thought, the hedgehog's sneakered feet carried him across the room, glancing around as he went; searching for something, but what, he didn't know.

It was with a start that he realised he was in Amy's bedroom, having looked inside the other rooms. Cupboards in the kitchen were no longer as neat as they had once been, and the medicine cabinet in the bathroom wasn't latched shut - but it was even more chaotic in her own room. One of the wardrobe doors had been left jammed ajar, boxes partially pulled from under the bed with their contents spilling out onto the floor, drawers hanging half open, the clothes and belongings within having been rummaged through and left carelessly dishevelled...

_What...?_

A splash of colour, framed in simple glass, drew his attention to the bedside table. Moving quickly, he stepped over towards the photograph, both surprised and curious when it seemed every last one within the apartment had vanished. A gloved hand caught hold of the photo frame and picked it up, raising it to eye level and turning it around in order to look at the image properly.

A picture. A picture of him and Amy, one that he hadn't seen before - and one that he almost didn't recognise, before the memory fell into place. It had been that time when Amy had towed him along on a long trip through a forest to the cliffs above what looked to be a lake large enough to pass as a small sea, all just so that she could take photographs of some kind of meteor shower over the water. It had been too late for Cream to tag along so she'd dragged him into it instead, and - to his surprise - it had been pretty fun... They'd had an hour or so before night fell completely, so the pair of them had hung back talking - and mucking around with the camera - in the woods for a while.

And for some reason, that was when it clicked inside his head, what it was that Amy had gone and done; each individual clue fastening onto one another like links in a chain. Belongings strewn everywhere, as though someone had been looking for particular items. The missing pictures, the locked door. Why Cream hadn't found Amy Rose at home that morning.

And though he was barely aware of choosing to take the photograph in his hand, and refused to glance at it again, the cobalt hedgehog's fingers gripped it tighter as he ran from the apartment in search of Tails, hardly pausing to lock the door behind him as he left.

**-XOX-**

Weak winter sunlight streamed through the gap in the young rabbit's curtains, illuminating gently dancing dust motes and disturbing her light sleep enough to pull her into wakefulness.

Three days. It had been three days since Amy Rose had gone missing. Three days since both Sonic and Tails had turned up on their doorstep, looking for help.

Three days of searching for her best friend and finding nothing, not one single clue that would indicate the hedgehog's location.

The beige-furred rabbit sighed and opened liquid-chocolate eyes, sitting up and pushing herself out from under the duvet in her thin tangerine nightdress. The white-trimmed gown swept the floor as she padded barefoot across the carpet and slipped into her usual orange dress and pulling at it until it was comfortable. Straightening her collar and the sky blue necktie, the girl tugged on her socks and shoes, and drifted from her room, down the stairs and into the kitchen in which her mother was already busily preparing a breakfast of porridge and toasted crumpets.

Though she usually adored her mother's cooking, somehow the warm, deliciously mouthwatering smells just made her feel slightly nauseated.

Turning around with a pair of nicely browned crumpets on a plate in her hands, Vanilla spotted her daughter hovering just inside of the doorway and sent a reassuring smile towards her. "Oh! Good morning Cream!"

The weak one she received in return - one that was in truth, closer to a grimace - did nothing to ease her concern for her child.

"Good morning, Mother..."

Facing away from her daughter once more, Vanilla's brow creased in a worried frown. Of course Amy's disappearance would hit Cream the hardest; the two were incredibly close, like sisters, even, and Vanilla herself considered the hedgehog to be practically family. Even if the way Sonic had been acting for the last few days put him in at a close second for the title of 'Most Affected'.

The clatter of Cream pulling out a chair from the already-laid breakfast table and sitting down attracted the older rabbit's attention, so she walked over, picking up a bowl of hot porridge as she passed, and placed it down alongside the crumpets in front of her daughter, sending another tentative smile that didn't quite dare to hope for a true one in response towards her. "I made your favourite. I can get the honey if you would like some, or-"

"It's fine. Thank you, Mother." And Cream meant it; she was grateful, no matter how blunt or dead her voice sounded.

Vanilla moved away wordlessly to prepare her own breakfast. Moments passed, the only sounds those of a fork scraping against china and light breathing. The older rabbit almost relaxed.

With a sudden screech, the wooden chair was shoved back and Cream swallowed her mouthful and stood up, a viciously determined look shining in her eyes that was tempered somewhat by the hollowness behind it.

Vanilla had hated seeing that look these past few days.

"I'm going out to look again."

"Cream, I... Please, wait until you've finished your breakfast. You've barely touched it, and you haven't eaten properly since... recently."

The younger rabbit barely spared the plate a glance. It wasn't that she meant to be rude, but her manners had been less perfect, more frayed around the edges with everything else that had happened. She gave an almost-apologetic look towards Vanilla as she walked past her and into the hallway to put on her coat and open the front door to admit a slightly chilly draft.

"Mother, you know I'll be fine."

The older rabbit sighed hopelessly. She could only hope that Cream would see reason soon. "Alright, darling. Be careful, won't you?"

"Of course..."

With her mind empty of thoughts, it felt like no time had passed before the rabbit was wandering through the Ivy Woods. The trail looked much the same as ever, down-trodden weeds lining the scuffed dirt of the path, so many footprints now, that it was near impossible to tell where one ended and another began... Though, there was one set, created with heeled shoes, that looked fresh - and almost deliberately deep. _How strange._

Curious, the young rabbit followed them. It seemed unlikely that it would lead into a trap - Eggman had nothing to do with Amy's disappearance, that much was obvious from the look on his face when Sonic had burst into his half-completed base, closely followed by herself, Tails and Cheese - and so Cream couldn't help but wonder who would leave something so like a trail of breadcrumbs for her to follow. Or maybe she was grasping at straws, desperate for some sort of clue. _The more likely option,_ she thought. It was odd how little optimism she felt when normally she was overflowing with it - maybe because this was Amy, and in that regard, they'd been very similar - and now that she was gone, did it mean the rose-tinted glasses were, too?

It only took a minute or two of following the trail along the path before Cream realised just where it was leading her to. She broke into a hasty run, no longer bothering to even watch for the footprints. Sure enough, when she suddenly broke into the circular clearing, it wasn't unexpected - and the final footprint was under her own shoe. It was almost hesitatingly that the rabbit stepped forwards, craning and turning her head around in an effort to find something, _anything_, suspicious or different, something that hadn't been here when she had last visited.

Nothing. _Nothing new at all._

_Unless..._ Maybe it wasn't quite so obvious. It would have been unlike Amy to be so subtle, but still. Her determination wasn't just because she didn't want to admit the possibility of this being utterly pointless. And so she blocked out the irritating idea: that there might not even be anything to find.

Having circled the clearing, sending searching glances in every direction and yet finding nothing, her feet brushing through the mane of untamed grass, she cast her eyes downwards hopelessly. Was there nothing she could do to help search for her sister? It wasn't_ fair _- even if everyone else didn't manage to-

_What?_

Staring into the ground as she was, her fudge-coloured eyes had fallen upon something that was not only a recent addition, decidedly not-from-Ivy-Woods, but also gave the strange, almost coldly comforting feeling of being what she was seeking, even if she hadn't known it herself. A parchment-yellow envelope that was currently looking slightly worse for wear, to be precise, tucked into a crevice below one of the twisted roots belonging to possible the oldest, most gnarled tree there.

Blindly, Cream hurried over to it, her long ears flying behind her as she stumbled and righted herself. It was a moment before she managed to unhook it from it's hollow beneath the root, but when she did and could turn it over to look at the front, she saw it was addressed to her, written neatly in a familiar hand.

That was all the prompting that the young rabbit needed to tear it open and yank the folded paper from within, using far less care than she would normally have shown. She chewed on her lip as she undid it, the pressure of her teeth increasing as her eyes flitted across the paper, just barely struggling with some of the words that were less familiar to her, but understanding it's meaning with acute clarity nonetheless.

_Amy had run away from them._

Distantly, she imagined that somewhere she had already known - they all had. But that hadn't made it believable... or anything that they wanted to believe. Yet, all of this was contemplated at arms' length, separate and somehow muffled as the rest of her mind was required in the attempt to wrap itself around the alien concept.

It wasn't until she became aware of the slow, rain-like sound of tears hitting the page that she knew she was crying; silent trickles that traced trails down her face, that went unnoticed while she was busy, reeling. No sobs shook her shoulders, nor did her breathing turn erratic, despite the girl's emotional state dictating that this should be the case; instead, she just let the miserable guilt lap at the edges of her thoughts, washing over them and soaking through. She'd known Amy was unhappy, she'd known why, and she'd known it for a long time - but what had she offered, but superficial - _useless, the letter whispered_ - comfort? What more had she - _hadn't she_ - done?

Was her sister happier now that she had left?

**-XOX-**

She trod the familiar path home in a dejected daze, her feet scuffing against the gravel as they dragged her along for the final steps.

One hand reached up and unlatched the door, pushing it open and stepping inside, into the warmth. The change from the cool winter evening air only made her shiver in the hallway.

"Cream?" Vanilla looked out from the kitchen doorway. "Cream! What's wrong, sweetheart?" Her mother's worried voice rang out as the older rabbit hurried over and gathered the girl into her arms protectively, as if that alone could shelter her from her ghosts.

The girl wanted so badly to spill out the secrets drowning her heart, then, tell her mother everything. Show her the letter, confess Amy was with her grandmother, that they could find her and bring her home and make everything alright again... But Amy's words were there, soft and whispering in her mind, but compellingly _there_ all the same.

_One last request, Cream?_

And so Cream just murmured mutedly into her mother's embrace;

"No sign of her..."

**-XOX-**

It was simple, Sonic decided, when you knew exactly what it was you wanted to do; it was when you were lost before you even began attempting to actually do it that things started getting difficult.

So thought the increasingly frantic hedgehog as he tried and failed to think of somewhere else - _anywhere_ else - that Amy might have gone. Unfortunately, his mind was running in progressively unhelpful circles and wearing a rut into the carpet of his head. Just _great._

_If only she hadn't left before..._ He sharply shook his head twice. She _had,_ and he had to concentrate on that. And what to do about it.

Of course, _then_ there was always that little voice whispering in the back of his mind that he was the one to blame. Now wasn't _that_ a comforting thought? The unwanted idea provided a distraction, though - one that made him feel worse than he already did. Frustration and stress and hurt threatened to boil over, making the hedgehog tense and snarky, though he was the only one around to feel it.

Bitter-tasting irony coated the next words he spoke to himself.

_Amy Rose, the one to run away... from me._

**-XOX-**

**Author's Note:** Well, wouldja look at that. Probably more Cream sisterlyness (I always figured Amy was practically adopted into Cream's family :3) in here than in most Sonamy fics, but I wanted to show her disappearance affected everyone else too... That, and the lyrics at the top were just too perfect xD Nor could I resist that part about Sonic chasing Amy... It may be a staple of Sonamy, but if it is, it is for a reason 8D

Also, before I forget! There's a poll on my profile, and I'd really appreciate it if people could let me know what kind of writing they'd like to see more of from me, or rather, what story you want me to focus on~ It's mostly because I want to know what you guys want to see, 'cause it's you guys reading :P

I don't think I have anything else to say... I guess no-one'll be suprised if the next chapter takes just as long as this one, but I'll see what I can do xD I hope you enjoyed the chapter and weren't put off by my ramblings xD Maybe revieww~ ? Cookies and refreshments are on the house! :P


	4. Returning Home

**Author's Note:** Well, uhm, first things first, sorry for the late chapter again xD; In honesty, I had the whole thing written by the third week of August except for the conversation at the end at which point I hit Writer's Block. And then school started - my first GCSE year, and the amount of homework is terrible D:

Random ramblings: I've been watching a boatload of anime and buying some manga now. Hoping to write for some of them :3 Code Geass, Vampire Knight, Shugo Chara, Pandora Hearts and Ouran High School Host Club. Yes, I am a little obsessed xD. Anyone watching the new series of Merlin, or read a book called The Traitor Game by B.R. Collins? _{heart}_ 8D

Onto the chapter - I really, really hope this lives up to everyone's expectations, because it seems to me that I got far too carried away and parts are confusing and a whole list of other problems, but I hope that's just me xD; Let me know if I failed epically anywhere though xP The chapter's also freaking huge for me - about 9,000 words. Hopefully, it s not too daunting and makes up for the long wait xD Some more explanations are at the end, 'cause if I confuse myself then I probably also confuse my readers xP

Many, many, many thank yous for the positive response last chapter though~! _{heart}_ You guys don't know how much it means to me, so thanks for all the reviews, favourites and alerts! :')

**-XOX-**

**Review Replies~ !**

**- Ksonic :;** Aheh, I've really got to work on getting chapters written faster xD; I'm glad the sisterlyness went down well, I liked the idea of them having a family relationship like Sonic and Tails do :'D Thank you so much for the lovely review_ {heart}_!

**- Shirls :; **Thank you for the kind review _{heart}_! I'm pleased that Sonic and the others are coming across in character, sometimes I think that I've written their reactions too differently from their normal behaviour, so it's good to know :'D Might get even trickier towards the end - how to write a forwardly-romantic Sonic... :P

**- SilverDawn2010 :;** _{Blushes fiercely}_ Wow... You flatter me. :'3 Thank you for the lovely praise, it really does mean a huge amount to me _{heart}_~ ! As to the story itself, here is one (attemptedly soon, not so successful xD;) update!

**- SugarhogRose :;** Hehe, with Amy running away, how could I resist that line? xD Thanks for the review! :D

**- ColurfulStar :;** Thank you for the kind reviews! :D Here's one update~ :3 (Not so sure about the soon part xD;)

**- ZehHyperactiveAuthor :;** Is it being so sad that it makes you want to cry a good thing? xD Thanks for the reviews, and I'm glad you're liking it so much so far! :D

**- Mana the Cat Magician :;** Wow, thank you for the praise~ ! _{blushes}_ :3 I'm glad that you like the story so much :D From this point on, I'm not sure how much of a rollercoaster it'Il turn out to be, but I can say that there's a few more chapters before we'll know for sure if Sonic retrieves his Amy :P

**-XOX-**

**The Never-Breaking Dawn**

**{Chapter Four :; Returning Home}**

**-XOX-**  
_I wake up in the morning,_  
_Put on my face -_  
_The one that's gonna get me_  
_Through another day._  
_Doesn't really matter how I feel inside,_  
_This life is like a game sometimes._

..: Naked - Avril Lavigne :..  
**-XOX-**

The ground was hard beneath her feet from the cold nights, the grass still pale and damp from half-melted morning frost. An arched wooden bridge continued the path over a wide, slow-flowing stream that was fringed by willow trees hanging their branches so their thick leaves brushed the surface of the cool, clear water.

Treading carefully as she moved from the path, she stopped a little way along the brook in the shadow of a tree and pushed her backpack's straps from her shoulders, letting it fall to the floor with a soft thump. Then, crouching beside it, she pulled a change of clothes to the top of the bag and left them there, half-concealed by the leaves of the tall willow, before brushing through the vines herself, past the silvery trunk and over to the very edge of the creek. There, she tugged off her boots and sat down on the bank, testing the water with her bare feet and letting out a muffled gasp at its icy temperature. Slipping out of her dirty, worn clothes, she slid into the waist-deep stream with barely a splash, the smooth pebbles and shingle silky against the soles of her feet, and still hidden by the dense canopy of the willow tree as it dipped into the liquid, began to wash both herself and the garments in the freezing brook.

It was refreshing. Even though the water chilled her to the bone from the moment she entered it, sinking briefly to her knees to submerge her shoulders, it felt cleansing, as though the gentle current was sweeping away all her doubts and anxieties with the dirt and grime of travel. As though it was waking her up from a hazy dream to a sharp picture of reality, but this time the clarity was welcomed with the crystal colours of the world around her.

She had been enjoying the glacial stream for longer than she had thought. Her unkempt clothes were now clean, as was she herself, and so she dragged herself onto the bank of the creek once more, letting herself drip onto the grass without making an attempt to dry her pink fur. After spreading out her things so that they, at least, stood a chance of airing, she returned to her previous seated position at the edge of the waterway, feet drifting slightly in the current. She smiled as she looked around at the interior of the makeshift den. She'd always loved willow trees for this, their protective, shielding walls of leaves and vines and branches, the way they created a peaceful bubble separating her from the rest of the world where she could just dream inside her mind without anything to distract her with petty worries.

There wasn't far to go now - five days of the road, so far; another three, or perhaps four, and she would be - at last - home. She could relax for a little while, she was sure.

**-XOX-**

Her face lit up at the sight of the familiar painting on the pub sign. It had been a while, but this close to home... it was like she'd never left.

On a whim - it was getting late and cold, and she hadn't been here in years, and just _why not?_ - Amy strode over and slipped in through the door and into the warm, crowded bar.

Immediately, the cosy, comfortingly safe atmosphere enveloped her, the steady hum of voices and laughter a constant noise in the background as she searched for faces she recognised. There were a few, though she couldn't be sure - just another indicator of the time that had passed, everyone looked so different - but then she spotted someone she knew that she could be absolutely certain of.

Of course, Honey would look the same as ever. Lemon fur still shimmered like gold in the light, and onyx locks still framed the innocently mischievous face of the feline.

The cat in question was seated comfortably at one of the tables, currently engaged in what looked like a heated discussion with a barmaid, a lynx that seemed to be a little older than Amy herself - actually, the waitress did look reminiscent of the pub's owner, if it hadn't changed hands; her daughter, maybe? - and a few moments later, with an air of complete exasperation, the girl threw her hands up in defeat and stalked away irritably to serve someone else who wasn't as utterly infuriating.

Some things just never changed.

The amaranth-pink hedgehog wormed her way through the patrons of the bar until she was stood beside the table. Honey was already looking at her, a smile gracing her features and alabaster-feathered wings that looked absurdly natural on the feline's back twitching with delight.

"Still brushing innocent bystanders' fur the wrong way? She won't serve you again, and that girl's going to get horrible, _horrible_ revenge - I know I did." Amy laughed, speaking first. She could help but wonder at how this banter still felt so natural after so long.

"Somehow, I knew you were coming home." The feline's smile mutated into a cheeky grin and russet eyes sparkled with warmth even as she ignored the friendly jibe.

"You would." Amy shot back, a matching smirk on her own lips as it finally began to sink in; no matter that she still carried the bag with all the belongings she had brought with her, never mind that she hadn't yet crossed the border and set foot in the land of her birth where her closest relative resided - she was welcomed here, and she was _home._

**-XOX-**

Painstakingly, breathtakingly, beautiful; those were the only words Amy Rose could muster to describe the landscape she found herself now immersed in. Just as she remembered - or perhaps even better, she amended, cursing her dusty memories of this place - it was as if an artist, a master at his craft, had painted this backdrop using only the finest of brushes, the most vibrant of colours, and had poured his own life into his creation until it was the picture of fairytale perfection.

Above, majestic plum-grey mountains topped with white snow like icing-sugar walled in the world in a way that didn't confine, but rather, seemed to protect the magical place from the harshness of outside. A huge expanse of the purest ivory blanketed the sanctuary from edge to edge, like a favourite cloak; soft and safe and loved and warm, except this cloak was a pleasantly cool temperature, just as true, powdery snow ought to be. Stood at the very edge of the southern pass, the girl knew that to the north lay dense green forest, at least during summertime. For now, their mystery remained hidden and barely distinguishable. To the west, the town - bustling and cosy and friendly. The final village before the path led travellers here rested behind her, as did, most likely, her old friend. Throughout the land that lay before her, farms and heaths and hills and - as her younger self had often found - adventures, and to the east... To the east was home.

It was with a sense of awe that Amy stepped onwards, marring the untouched snow with the seemingly clumsy, inelegant prints of her boots. The small damage to the postcard picture scenery was almost enough to make her feel guilty over it.

But that vanished when she came to the crest of the next alabaster incline, and saw the sprawling plains of the eastern reaches of her homeland - saw the house nestled into the side of a hill with its stable and its garden. Then she was running with no care to the tracks she left behind in the snow, slipping as she went but righting herself and racing on towards her destination as fast as she could with the weight of the bag on her back and her boots sinking into the soft surface beneath her feet.

It didn't take very long. After all, she had spent years bounding around this countryside - why should anything have changed, save for the people? So magical was it here, that it seemed natural for this place to have no concept of time.

She had fallen in the snow twice, and was damp and cold and shivering, but she had made it. The short, slow steps she took crunched not only in the ivory crystal layer, but also the gravel pathway below it. Rising up before her stood the house she had lived in as a child - her grandmother's house - looking just as enchantingly artful in its winter wrapping as it had always felt to her.

The wrought-iron gate swung open smoothly on its hinges to admit her, the twists of the cool metal bars reminding her of when she was barely tall enough to see over the waist-height frame. The air sighed around her as a light breeze shifted her dusty-rose quills from the edges of her face, carrying memories away to dance around her. The dark violet door - one that Amy could suddenly feel herself painting once more in the colours of royalty - opened, and-

And everything around her; the scents that pulled her back through the years to her childhood, the beatific surroundings that could submerge an onlooker for an eternity wrapped inside a moment, everything that tugged at her senses, so welcoming of the embrace of the part of her that they had been so cruelly separated from, so many years ago - _everything_ - it all melted away in the presence of the woman who stood before Amy now.

"G- Grandmother?"

The elderly hedgehog who belied her years with her regal stance, who shared so many physical traits with her only granddaughter, broke the short second of insecurity with an ecstatic smile that lit up her entire face like the sun that rarely shone directly upon this miniature heaven.

"Welcome home, Amy Rose."

And Amy ran to her, dived into her enveloping arms, and cried tears of true happiness and deep misery and was damned if she could tell which was which.

**-XOX-**

The amber light of the autumn sunset edged through the spaces between the fire-painted mountains, bathing only the eastern reaches of her homeland in an unearthly orange glow while the rest had already faded into the darkness of twilight. The rays scattered long shadows across the remaining illuminated landscape, featureless inky shapes that mirrored and yet were independent of the movements of those who cast them.

Rose-pink fur was stained beautifully by the receding sunlight, jade eyes reflecting chips of golden luminescence as she watched the fiery orb sink below the horizon. Not once had it left the cage of Sunfall and risen above the tops of the mountains today, and it wouldn't, not for some months yet. Shoulder length quills of amaranth brushed her shoulders as she shifted where she stood, the hedgehog girl turning to face the only other occupant of the paddock.

The dun horse leaned into her hand as she stroked its pale golden-brown nose, before trailing her hand along the mare's neck to comb through the jet black silken tendrils of her mane, a peacefully indulgent smile on her lips as she wrapped her arms around her childhood friend. She'd been thrilled to find Minstrel still here when she'd returned - but of course, where else would her beloved horse be? Her grandmother would never have sold her on or given her away, not knowing Amy's attachment to her even though the younger hedgehog wasn't there anymore. More than that though, she'd been thrilled that Minstrel still knew her even after four years.

Burying her face in the soft fur that carried the sweet smelling perfume of hay, her thoughts drifted towards the evening and what lay at the end of the night. The next time the sun would light this field, she'd be another year older. A strange thought, that her birthday didn't cause the same jolt of excitement it always used to. It didn't feel right, and Amy didn't know if it was just because she was growing up, or... well, she could think of no other reasons, but she still didn't know. A year older but not a year wiser; almost two months remained before the anniversary of her desertion.

Realising where her mind was headed with this trail, the hedgehog tried to pull away from it, but instead found herself following it reluctantly. Absently winding locks of Minstrel s mane around her fingers, Amy wondered how the others were, what they'd been doing in her absence. This part of the world lived almost independently to the rest - there was little news that was important here, but Amy had managed to find out through Honey that Eggman had attacked just the once after she'd left, much further south. It had taken all of her willpower not to run back to her friends' side to assist them, but it was unnecessary. A small part of her mused that maybe her help had never been necessary for them at all. A thought then struck her; she knew that Tails and- and his brother got a lot of media attention for what they did, but she and the others had tended to stay out of the spotlight. Would the press have noticed she was no longer there? Was it common knowledge? For some reason, she didn't think so. She hoped not.

Cream's birthday was in a few months... Amy wondered what her little sister was hoping to receive for presents, and if there was a way she could send a gift discretely enough that it would raise suspicion. Maybe she could coerce Honey into delivering it, the angel was good with that sort of thing. The hedgehog thought the others would be managing fine without her now, but she was a little worried about Cream. That was why she'd left the letter all those months ago, and she still meant every word of it. She was sure that everyone else would've been okay, but...

Her eyes shot open and she drew in a sharp breath as the image of saddened twin emerald irises formed in her mind. Why now? She'd done so well to avoid thinking over this too much... to avoid thinking of him too much. Yes, she'd been sure that everyone else would be okay... with the exception of perhaps Sonic. Amy almost flinched at the acute twinge of regret that seemed to pierce her chest; it hadn't flared in a long while and it came as a shock. Regret over how she had left them... left him. Why was she drawn inevitably towards him, even in her own head? It wasn't _fair_. How could it be fair that she'd come so far to escape the pull and yet it still inexorably dragged her back in? How could it be fair that she'd done this for herself, and yet she still found herself worrying over how he had taken it?

Another idea surfaced. Had they searched for her? The girl already knew - of course they had, at least in the beginning. But they hadn't found her, because she was certain that if they had, she would already know about it one way or another. Somewhere, she felt a touch of pride in that fact, in how she alone had managed to evade people more than capable of taking down threats to the entire planet for so long. Actually, if she was honest with herself, it didn't ring quite true... the hedgehog considered the vague feeling that maybe Cream had ceased searching after she'd found the letter, and the others had respected her unexplained wishes. Or maybe they had come to the conclusion that Amy had run away of her own accord, and they didn't follow because she had clearly not wanted them to, even if they could.

A deep ache throbbed in her chest. She longed to see them all again; above all else, they were her friends, and she treasured that bond no matter how much it pained her. Maybe someday soon she would send Cream some kind of directions, so her best friend could visit. Amy was sure that her little sister would enjoy seeing where she had grown up, and they could forget the time that had passed and just talk as they always used to...

Not yet, though. Some time in the future, but not yet. Not enough time lay between them. Why did everything of them remind her of him? Why did it dredge up emotions she knew unrequited, feelings she wanted to bury so deeply that she would remember them less and less with every passing moment?

Why had the point of distancing herself as far as she had been rendered so uselessly unsuccessful?

Dimly aware that her thoughts were winding around into a vicious circle, the rose hedgehog pulled herself back into the present moment with some difficulty. The sky had fully darkened now, tiny pinpricks of starlight beginning to pierce the swathe of midnight blue silk. The air was still warm, but the unmistakable light chill running through it signalled the start of autumn clearly. Minstrel stamped her foot once, impatience at having stood still for so long showing through her gentle nature.

Murmuring a farewell to the mare, Amy began the walk down the grassy slope, back towards the glowing yellow lights of home. Maybe she could lose herself in the birthday celebrations tomorrow. Maybe she could simply enjoy herself as anyone else her age would.

As she focused on placing one foot in front of the other, a traitorous voice whispered to her, reminding her of the earlier possibility.

Yes, maybe she would extend an invitation to Cream, to the best friend she had in the world.

Or maybe her will would fracture and splinter and fragment, and she would relinquish more of herself unto the source of her uncertainties. Maybe she would extend an invitation to Sonic, and irrevocably destroy the foundations of everything she was trying to build around her.

**-XOX-**

How long had it been?

He tried not to be aware of how many days since then, even if he couldn't help but count. The number had become - what? A hurtful reminder of her? His own failure? - and he would have simply given up, if he'd been able. Better to live in dulled ignorance and vague hope than sharp clarity and equally acute pain. Of course, things were never so easy.

It was still early morning, the light grey and dusty where it broke through the closed curtains. Hours before anyone else would awaken. The hedgehog noticed he'd been spending more and more nights in Tails' guest room - which was really his except he often slept elsewhere, but not now - and it suited his mood fine. It was nice to have somewhere to hide away, alone and undisturbed.

It felt like a lifetime passed since she - Amy - had left, and yet the world continued on relentlessly, regardless. Cream had never really recovered; her demeanour was more reserved, no longer always so innocently cheerful, and sometimes she would stare off into the distance and look more lonely than anyone Sonic had ever seen. It must be harder than he could imagine for her, to have the one person closest to you in the world just... disappear. Or maybe not. His own feelings were more than a little confused, after all. Maybe he knew exactly how Cream felt.

The little rabbit had been spending more time with Tails, recently. It made sense; she needed a friend, without Amy, and the fox wasn't much older than her. If only Blaze were here. The girl had formed a bond with the feline princess, and it would be better for her if she had her dear friend back now. The hedgehog couldn't help but wonder what the pyrokinetic cat would say about this, what she would say about him - one of those who had encouraged her to open up and accept friendships - having caused the loss of one of his own. He didn't think the lavender feline would be very impressed.

The others were healing, he supposed. Tails was... okay, now. He'd been upset for a time, they all had, but he was getting better, distracting himself with his machines as he always did. What use was there in lingering?

Truth be told, he couldn't tell how the others felt. Knuckles... well, the echidna wasn't one for displays of any kind of emotion besides irritation to begin with, and even then, he hadn't been particularly close to Amy - the initial surprise had worn off and left him behind, stoic and unmoving as ever. Cold as it sounded, he likely didn't particularly miss her anymore - probably barely even noticed she was gone.

Even less so did Rouge and Shadow. Whatever fondness the pair harboured towards their lost friend was buried deeply, and in all honesty, Rouge didn't seem to care much. Neither did Shadow, though Sonic had noticed the news had startled him a little more than it had the ivory bat. He guessed it was because Shadow owed something to her, for that time on the ARK, and all he'd ever seen of her was the incessantly chipper girl who was head over heels in love and would do anything to make her friends happy. Perhaps Rouge wasn't so taken aback because she'd sensed something else underneath that. Females always did seem to read and understand each others' thoughts and actions when others couldn't.

All of them, though... They didn't dwell upon it, this long since the event. They didn't dwell, and he doubted they lay awake for hours, blaming themselves and wondering what they should have done better. Not even Cream, who so painfully obviously still missed her adoptive sister. The rabbit had come to terms with it faster than expected of her, just a few days after the disappearance. By now, everyone had - accepted and mourned the loss of a friend before moving on, but not him and he just didn't know _why._

There was that familiar stabbing pain in his chest again. He vaguely toyed with the idea that there was something seriously wrong with him.

The hedgehog suppressed a morose, frustrated groan so he wouldn't disturb his soundly sleeping little brother in the room across the hall. Perhaps suffering shared was suffering halved, but he wouldn't inflict even a fraction of this upon anyone.

**-XOX-**

The midday sun was beating harshly down upon the city when a cobalt-furred hedgehog found himself meandering its hectic, grey streets.

Did it count as aimless wandering if there was a location in mind but he didn't care if he arrived there or not? He had intended to visit the Chaotix again, to ask for any news, but he knew the answer was always the same; _Nothing yet, but we're still looking. Don't worry, I'm sure there'll be something in the next town, no-one can just vanish._ Why bother if he could predict their words? He liked them alright, especially his old armadillo friend Mighty, but none of them brought anything but disappointing information when it came to the search.

Sonic was startled into alertness when a figure knocked unceremoniously into his shoulder, sending him stumbling backwards a step - it wouldn't have happened had he not been caught off-guard.

The hedgehog only caught a brief, summarising glimpse of his assailant - a feline Mobian with lemony-gold fur, he thought perhaps a year or so older than himself - before she was pressing something into his hand and wrapping his fingers around it, whispering close to his ear - "From a friend..." - as she slid past him and was lost in the crowd, pulling the dark cloak that swathed her form and mostly hid her crimson dress, despite the season, closer around her shoulders as she left. It was odd - like she was hiding something under the fabric, but why bother in this throng if it wasn't your identity?

The cobalt hedgehog only stared after the stranger for a moment with fingers still tightly clasped around his gift, until the jostling of the people surrounding stirred him into moving. Quickly, he dove into the nearest alcove he could see - a small, deserted seating area consisting of only a few equally spaced wooden benches - and opened his clenched hand.

A scrap of white paper unfolded itself in his palm, no longer crushed. A pin had been pushed through from the back and the hedgehog wondered absently how he'd managed to avoid impaling his fingers on it with the way he'd been gripping the note. Curiosity stirred within him, and he flipped the crinkled paper over to see what lay on the other side.

The first thing he noticed was what the pin had been holding in place; a single, perfect, red rose petal.

It was that which sent his thoughts whirling away from him, assumptions and possibilities spinning one after another around in his mind.

After all, what - _who_ - had roses always been associated with, but her?

And then the neatly penned words on the page filtered through the fogginess of everything else, all the surprise and shock and confusion, and into his brain-

_I'm Sorry. For Everything._

He could make no sense of them to begin with. But then the pieces all fell into place again and he was running much like he had eighteen months and twenty days before. It wasn't that he'd meant to count the days in the beginning. It had only begun a fortnight afterwards, when he was despairing without something to hold onto. He still had that photograph, too. It felt like eons.

Maybe if he ran fast enough, he'd find that mysterious cat again and be able to question her. She had to have some answers - she'd found him, given him the note, she must have seen Amy, spoken to her. And besides, no-one else did.

**-XOX-**

It wasn't until later, when he was perched on the edge of the rumpled bed he slept in whenever he stayed with Tails, staring intently at the simple scrap of paper as though it could tell him the answers to the mysteries of the universe - or really, just the secret of the location of one single girl - when he noticed it. It was doubtful that anyone would have done so, had he not been so absorbed in examining the note, and it was doubtful that anyone was meant to.

Towards the edge of the note, at the edge and just barely hidden by the scarlet petal, there were the faintest traces of words - written in pencil and erased as much as it had been possible, abruptly cut off as the author had decided against them, with parts rendered indecipherable by the scrubbing of the rubber - and they read, simply:

_You can find me in the north. Sunfall. Ask for the land of_

Sunfall... Somewhere in the north. If those were the only two clues he had to go on, then so be it. Amy Rose had decided against telling him where to look for her, but that wouldn't stop him trying anyway and using what little he had. The feline from earlier had melted away like a ghost without a trace, leaving him with nothing more, so he'd have to make do. He would find her.

After all, it wasn't like he'd been attempting that for a year and a half already.

**-XOX-**

The temperature back home had been sweltering when he'd left - as the longest day of the year approached, it was only to be expected - but this far north, it was a pleasant warmth; almost too hot, but with a light, cool breeze that stirred the surrounding air and gave a pleasing contrast between the two.

An aged wooden sign swung gently in the zephyr, the painting etched into its surface depicting a mountain scene, the sun struggling to rise up behind them, its rays casting the sky above and the snow below with dustings of pink and gold.

The cobalt-blue hedgehog contemplated the image for a moment more, and then looked towards the door of the bar that the sign advertised. He'd never been here before, this little picturesque village, and that in itself was a little weird; with the amount of travelling he did, he'd seen most of the world's wonders - but not here, and he couldn't fathom why. But that wasn't the issue here.

Sure, it was only around midday, but previous experience told him that if you were looking for information, a pub was a good place to ask around. With all of its visitors, the regulars and those who worked there heard a lot, whether it was in conversation or from the loosened tongue of one who had already drunk too much alcohol.

With a shrug, he pushed the heavy door open and crossed the threshold, letting it swing closed with a low thud behind him. Glancing around, Sonic saw that there were few patrons inside, most of them at tables enjoying a late lunch. Last of all his eyes alit on the two felines stood beside the bar - a cat and what he thought was a lynx, with charcoal-grey fur. The lynx was hunched and leaning on her crossed arms over the bar, her breathless laughter just audible over the quiet murmur of conversation between the customers, while the cat continued saying something, a wide grin decorating her face as she spoke.

Instantly, he recognised the feline with fur the colour of the summer sun outside. He'd made sure to memorise every detail he knew about her - only her appearance, concealed mostly by a cloak - because he was sure that if he found her, she could lead him straight to Amy. Hopefully. She wasn't wearing the heavy blue fabric now, though; he could see the strange scarlet dress she wore - it looked like it belonged in another time, with the black belts and the spiked netting trim and the lacing at the front of the skirt.

Unconsciously striding towards them, it was the cat who spotted him first, whispering something to the lynx who looked up at him with surprised aquamarine eyes. When he arrived, she smiled at him and asked, "Can I get you anything, sir?"

The question confused him at first and he answered automatically, "No, thank you. And it's Sonic." He realised a moment later that the girl must work here, stood behind the counter as she was.

"I know," she replied, rolling her eyes good-naturedly, before sharing a knowing glance with the cat and moving away out of earshot to give them some privacy.

Turning back to the other feline, something else bizarre and mildly unsettling caught and held his attention, and the hedgehog couldn't help but wonder why exactly he hadn't already noticed.

The cat had _wings._ Not like a bird's wings, or leathery like a bat's, but just like an angel's; curved and strong, coated in pure ivory feathers that almost seemed to glow unnaturally. They sprouted from the inner edge of her shoulder blades, arcing outwards just past her shoulders, and down towards the floor, the tips of the longer primary feathers brushing her back at waist height as they folded neatly along her spine behind her.

Oh. So that was what the cloak was to hide.

"Are you going to stare all day? Come on, they can't be the most interesting thing you've ever seen, right?" Her voice had a melodic lilt to it, almost mocking him in a playful way. He didn't think this cat was the spiteful type.

"Hm? No. Who are you? Do you know where Amy is? And what's with-" at this he gestured vaguely towards her shoulders, a frown of confusion on his face; not surprising, really. "-those?"

She laughed softly in her throat. "I'll answer your questions, but backwards if you don't mind. They're wings, as I'm sure you've gathered, and it really is a long story - and why on earth would you want to hear it when you're on a different quest? Yes, I am aware of where Amy Rose is - the question is, are you? And finally, you can call me Honey. I remain absolutely convinced I was named for my ever-so-sweet personality and not the colour of my fur." She said the last line with so much conviction that it was funny, and Sonic laughed, before sobering again as one of her questions stood out from the rest of her words.

"Do the words Sunfall, the land of... something or other, mean anything to you, Honey?"

A light giggle escaped the feline, her alabaster wings moving gently behind her shoulders. At the hedgehog's blank look though, she stopped and stared with a touch of incredulity and eyebrows raised. "You're serious?"

The blue hedgehog nodded, his emerald eyes trained on her and communicating only one thing; that he knew the answer was essential to finding Amy. Had he come all this way with only those few clues to guide him? That was... impressive.

"You really have no idea where you are, do you?"

Mutely, he shook his head, mild confusion marring his features at the mystery the winged feline was weaving around their location.

He really didn't. Honey was honestly surprised; there were very few people who found this place, and even fewer who managed such a feat deliberately. To do so with so little information... _Well, then._

"Ever heard of the Land of the Never-Breaking Dawn?"

The hedgehog looked like he was about to shake his head again when he paused, his expression that of someone trying to remember something they'd heard a long time ago and could only recall enough to know that they'd once known more. And, sub-consciously, sudden recognition as the name completed the half-written sentence scrubbed from the note.

"I think... I've heard of it. I don't know anymore than that, though."

The cat - Honey, he chided himself - smiled warmly at him.

"Well, then I guess I'll have to fix that if you want to find my friend." She danced forward and poked him in the chest with an outstretched finger. "Right now, you might as well be stood on the borderline. Didn't you see those mountains on your way here?" At this, Sonic nodded mutely. "That little circlet of rocky peaks makes up the Sunfall mountain range-"

"Why are they called that? The name-" The blue hedgehog interrupted, or at least tried to. Honey narrowed her eyes a little, but the smile didn't leave her face and she just poked him again playfully, harder this time.

"I was getting to that, silly! It's a little conundrum, actually. The Sunfall mountains are what give that place it's name - this far north, for almost the entire year they block out direct sunlight in the valley, so it's like the dawn never truly breaks. You know, the Land of the Never-Breaking Dawn? It's strange how well it flourishes there - even without direct sunlight, it's light and warm and the grass is always a lovely shade of emerald green." Honey mused over this for a moment before resuming her story. "But it's that which gives the mountains their name; the downfall of the sun. So... which was named first?" The cat finished with a quick grin that showed sharp, snowy-white teeth.

Sonic just shook his head to indicate that he had no idea. The whole tale seemed as if it were the setting of a fairytale, telling of ancient magics and fair princesses and valiant knights. This was Amy's refuge, and it was impossible not to see why; but what connection did she have here? He could tell that this place wasn't well-known or a landmark of any kind, despite it's intrigue, so why had she come here?

Surely - he couldn't remember anything she'd said about the home of her childhood. He couldn't remember if she ever had said anything. But maybe this Land of the Never-Breaking Dawn was...

He was saved from the thought he was struggling to phrase by the feeling of a hand fastening around his wrist and yanking him forwards a step before he regained his balance. "What-!"

"Come _on,_ Sonic! For a supposed hero you are really clueless, you know that? There's tons of stuff to discuss before you even think I'm gonna let you just run off in search of Amy!" The winged feline was already tugging him over to the end of the bar where the other girl from earlier was wiping at the smooth wood with a cloth. In the corner just behind the counter a staircase led upwards and out of sight - presumably to whatever rooms the pub offered to overnight guests.

"But-!"

"No buts! This is important! And besides, there's something I want to show you, not to mention the fact that you should sleep here tonight and continue your journey tomorrow." Catching the eye of the barmaid, Honey shot the girl a questioning glance that was answered with a smile and a tilt of her head towards the stairs. The cat then turned her chocolate eyes on the reluctant hedgehog and played her last card to convince him. "It's tradition. Whenever Amy and I went exploring outside, she would always spend a night here before returning home."

The sudden surprise and curiosity melted away any remaining resolve preventing him from following the strange girl. The fragments of Amy's past being revealed to him only nurtured the growing feeling of ignorance. He'd never thought to ask before, and that in itself disconcerted him. It wasn't that he'd thought it to be uninteresting or unimportant or unnecessary; it had just never occurred to him that he could or should.

_Do I really know so little about her?_

Honey was still moving forwards, pulling him along behind her, and he automatically tried to pay more attention to where he was placing his feet as one caught on a step and caused him to stumble. The cat didn't stop, nor relax her grip on his arm, so he was forced to scramble quickly after her.

At the summit of the staircase, a long hallway ran to both the left and right - the latter seeming to lead towards the quarters of whoever owned this place. He only got a brief glance in that direction though, because Honey had turned the other way and was now leading him to the far end of the corridor, past doors which were set at regular intervals in the panelled walls on either side. Each door had a brass number fixed upon it - odd numbers on the side opposite the stairs, even on the other, from one to ten. Some were shut tight, but others were left open and allowed glimpses of simple but adequate rooms as they passed, walking briskly until they reached the doorway at the very end wall of the hall. It too, was shut, and the number eleven clearly visible on its surface.

The feline released his wrist as she unlatched and pushed the cedar door open, bounding in ahead of him to flop down on her back on the lilac bedspread as if she lived here. _Then again, I wouldn't put it past her..._ Sparing her a brief look, actually wondering how lying down like that didn't hurt those strange wings of hers, Sonic moved further inside the room and looked around, closing the door absent-mindedly behind him. Even though this room was furnished much like the others he had just seen - or at least, the ones with open doors - it didn't feel quite as... _impersonal,_ at first glance like the others did. Fallow brown wood for the furniture and floorboards, with pale purple-grey fabrics making up the curtains, sheets and rugs, but this didn't feel like a room to hire.

A hand gesturing at the bed and then the armchair in a careless roundabout manner captured his attention away. "You'll be sleeping in here tonight, you might as well make yourself comfortable." Sonic raised his eyeridges and gave a wry smile at being ordered around in such a manner, but he wasn't going to stand around just to prove a point and so he curled up in the armchair, one knee drawn up under his chin with his arms wrapped around it and his foot planted on the cushion, the other bent and resting flat on the seat underneath him.

A few minutes passed in an awkward silence - awkward to Sonic, who was still unsure about what the hell was going on, that is. The feline seemed utterly oblivious.

"So..."

"You're confused." The feline addressed the ceiling in her playful sing-song voice.

"You're confusing," Sonic retorted without missing a beat, though without irritation - the banter was kind of comforting in its familiarity.

"I try," Honey smiled wolfishly. "But... you're the one wondering what it is I wanted to talk about."

The blue hedgehog raised an eyeridge at that. "You didn't really drop too many clues, it has to be said."

"I know." The feline had levered herself up on one elbow to gaze at him, chewing on her lip with pointed teeth and frowning as if she wasn't sure how to begin. She wasn't. "I don't think I can make this sound gentle, so I'll just say it straight. Do you know why you're here?"

Sonic wondered a little at the sudden change in the cat's bubbly demeanour. The serious set of her features didn't suit her.

"Why... I'm here?"

"Yes. Why Amy asked me to deliver that note, why she didn't destroy all evidence of her location and just use another piece of paper. Why you bothered to go through everything it took to get here when such a feat is - by all means - almost impossible, why you came looking for her when everyone else has let her go and moved on with their lives. Why are you here?

"Because- !" he burst out indignantly, before pausing when no words followed the first. He tried again. "Because..." He didn't know. How could he not _know?_ He had never stopped searching for her, never given up hope of finding her again. Hell, her leaving had torn him apart with guilt and misery and some deep, unidentifiable sense of pain and loss, so why didn't he _know?_

The look in Honey's eyes was unreadable - and then suddenly her face lit up and she grinned widely in a manner that made him want to back away very quickly. _Well, that moment of sanity lasted long._

"Then... in that case, I just _love_ to be the bearer of good news!"

"Huh?" _Yep. Definitely crazy._

"Well, at least _I_ think its good news. Which means it must be!" She paused briefly. "And I suppose I'm not really bearing it. I mean, where's the fun in just telling you?"

Sonic didn't even bother replying to that one.

Either Honey cottoned on to that very quickly, or she always switched topics that fast with no rhyme or reason to it - and in all honesty, the blue hedgehog was leaning towards the latter - but whatever the cause, the cat was already talking about something else.

"Hey, Sonic - c'mere. Look at this."

"Hm?" He shot her a look of confusion as she rolled over onto her front and haphazardly pushed the pillows aside to pull back the edge of the mattress and expose more of the wooden headboard. "What is it?"

"C'mere and _look,_ then!"

He rolled his eyes at her childish insistence. Somehow, he thought that when it came to wise guides to help you in your chosen quest, he'd drawn the short straw. Uncurling his legs, he got up and moved over to the bed to lean over the girl's shoulder and get a closer look at whatever it was that she wanted to show him.

There was a design carved scrappily into the wood, far enough down the headboard to be covered by the mattress most of the time and obviously done with whatever implement was at hand - a penknife, or scissors, maybe? - definitely not professionally, and it looked at least a few years old where the paler, unvarnished inner wood had darkened over time. _A.R. & Z. K._ encircled within a carefully etched heart.

A spark of jealousy flared up and burned somewhere deep in his chest. If this was Amy's room, he had no doubt about who had scratched that into the wood, nor about who the A. R. stood for. Amy Rose, and... someone else. Someone who wasn't him.

True, this was probably from before Robotnik first became a problem, before he became famous, and certainly before she'd even met him... but for some reason, despite all his rationalisations, it still bothered him. A lot. Never mind that it would have been a childish, meaningless crush for Amy at that age. It still _hurt._

Why was he jealous? He had no reason to feel jealous.

He certainly had no reason to feel so possessive of her feelings for him.

_So why the heck did it bother him so much?_

He closed his eyes and drew a deep breath, trying to gather his thoughts. How was he supposed to figure Amy out and say the right things to tell her what he wanted to say, when he didn't even understand himself? When he didn't even know what he wanted to say? After all, he'd proved that only minutes ago.

When he looked up again, he saw Honey gazing at him with hopeful chocolate eyes, biting her lip and remaining unnaturally patient and quiet, as if waiting for something. Waiting for him.

There was a point to this. He was supposed to realise something important about Amy, or about himself, but he didn't know _what._

After a pause, Honey sighed, but this time it carried little of her usual drama. "_Well..._ I suppose I can give you a clue."

Emerald eyes watched her curiously as the hedgehog drifted back towards his chair.

"It's kind of like..." The feline broke off, hesitating and searching for the right words, before her eyes brightened with an idea and she said softly with a hint of her usual drawl, "Like a fairytale! Except that this one's not yet reached it's happily ever after - but it will, because no fairytale is left broken, right?"

The hedgehog looked over, eyes thoughtful even as he raised an eyebrow at the random absurdity of her words. _Like a fairytale, huh? I guess I can sort of see it._ "So what does that make me, the brave knight in shining armour on his quest?"

Honey nodded enthusiastically. "And Amy's the princess locked inside a golden cage."

Sonic chuckled lightly; his Amy would have loved that analogy of them both - but then he remembered that there was supposed to something else hidden in the feline's words, and he fell quiet, puzzling it over.

In the silence that followed - the hedgehog thinking to himself, and Honey determined not to burst out with something or other and disturb him - Sonic didn't register that he had thought of the Amy from before as _his._

A little while later, the cobalt hedgehog dropped his head into his hands and let out a strangled noise of frustration. He knew the answer, he _knew_ it, but he just couldn't... _Argh!_ Honey glanced up from where she had been concentrating on counting the knots in the floorboards in an effort to distract herself from her boredom, looking more than a little relieved for something else to do besides being mute.

Sonic saw her look up and smiled apologetically. "Sorry. It's just... It's _there,_ but I can't think..."

The cat shook her head, grinning now. "It's going to come to you sooner or later and I'm personally betting on sooner. 'Sides, what's there to apologise for? I brought it up 'cause it's something you need to figure out if you didn't know already."

The hedgehog didn't answer, though he felt more reassured than he had before. A shorter, companionable moment of quiet passed before Sonic's mind wandered as its attention span reached its limit, and -

"Say, Honey - can you actually fly with those wings?" Sonic had returned to watching them, and he had to admit that in his experience, he'd never seen anyone with wings like that - or at least, not outside of paintings. It was true that Tails and Cream had markedly unusual methods of flight, but even the feathered wings of birds both feral and Mobian seemed somehow different to these; where a bird's appeared entirely natural, a seamless extension of their body, Honey's were angled in a way that looked almost odd, though he couldn't pinpoint exactly why, and they looked a little... _ethereal,_ the pale feathers' not-quite-there glow and unnaturally perfect formation resembling something stolen from the pages of a fairytale like the one she had mentioned before.

Sonic caught the dangerously mischievous grin and giggling as she spun around to dash over to the window, which she unlatched in the middle and pushed so that both panes swung smoothly outwards on silent hinges. Holding onto the outer edge and kneeling one leg on the sil, she glanced back over her shoulder to give the curious hedgehog a sideways smile and a raised eyebrow, before bounding forwards, tumbling out of the room and falling headfirst.

As she plummeted the feline extended her wings, tilting herself slightly to the right so she spiralled around, before beating them rapidly and rising up again until she hovered opposite the window where Sonic now stood, leaning out. Legs hanging loosely entwined, toes pointed at the ground, and one arm dangling with the other on her hip, both wings spread wide and effortlessly beating regularly to keep her afloat, she looked like an angel.

As if it wasn't enough to answer his question, she called out to him over the sounds of the stirring air. "Of course, silly! What use would they be otherwise?" Stilling the wings a little, she sank gracefully to the ground below, landing on one knee and tilting her head back to look up at the cobalt hedgehog, continuing, "Just follow the path to the mountains, I'm sure you'll find your way! I'll see you again soon, no matter what happens - so get a good night's sleep for tomorrow!" before rising and running agilely between two wood-panelled buildings and disappearing away into the small town.

_Heh... Strange girl... _Sonic thought, shaking his head as he moved away from the window, swinging the panes of glass closed and re-latching them. Collapsing on the bed, he inhaled deeply. The sheets felt fresh - but there was a faint scent about them; maybe they'd been slept in once, recently? Kicking off his shoes and rolling himself under the lavender duvet, he snuggled into it and drew another breath.

It smelt like... strawberries. Strawberries and vanilla and roses, a combination that he hadn't scented in a long time, and a delicious smell he'd only ever caught on the soft, freshly-cleansed sakura fur of one girl.

A faint smile ghosted over his lips as he stared up at the angled wooden ceiling. Maybe she'd been the one sleeping in this bed. Maybe this was all worthwhile.

And maybe, if - when - he saw her tomorrow... she'd be happy to see him too.

It was with those reassuring thoughts in his mind that Sonic drifted into a deep and peaceful sleep, even with the last rays of amber sunlight streaming into the room.

**-XOX-**

**Author's Note:** And we finally reach the end! Again, please let me know if something makes no sense or anything - especially the timeline of events so far, because I don't think it's very clear how long passes in between events Dx For those who don t know, Amy's "birthday" is September 23rd, if that helps clear up anything xD In the final chapter I'll post the exact dates from the timeline (yes, I am sad and work these things out xD)

I was... actually quite nervous about posting this chapter, because of the layout and Honey and that OC's appearance. I would have used another scrapped character instead, but none would fit since I'd already used Mighty - I just wanted to give an indicator of the time that passed bewtween Amy and Sonic visiting the pub, and I hope the personality I gave Honey works with her. They're pretty minor and won't be seen again, but I don't know if I wrote them well or likeably, so feedback would be immensely appreciated xD; (In case you were wondering, her name's Dusk ElDizo from an old original story of mine :3)

Argh, I talk too much in these things xD Review? Refreshments are available, but extra cookies to anyone who correctly guesses who Z.K. stands for~ (there may be a clue in the first A.N. x3)


End file.
